rss
Thorax 2009;64:1077-1081 doi:10.1136/thx.2008.110940
  • Respiratory infection

Simplified cell culture method for the diagnosis of atypical primary ciliary dyskinesia

  1. M Pifferi1,
  2. F Montemurro2,
  3. A M Cangiotti3,
  4. V Ragazzo1,
  5. M Di Cicco1,
  6. B Vinci2,
  7. G Vozzi2,
  8. P Macchia1,
  9. A L Boner4
  1. 1
    Department of Pediatrics, University of Pisa, Italy
  2. 2
    Interdepartmental Research Center “E. Piaggio”, Faculty of Engineering, University of Pisa, Italy
  3. 3
    Institute of Normal Human Morphology, Electron Microscopy Unit, Umberto I° Hospital, University of Ancona, Italy
  4. 4
    Department of Pediatrics, University of Verona, Italy
  1. Correspondence to Dr M Pifferi, Department of Pediatrics, University of Pisa, Via Roma 67, 56126 Pisa, Italy; m.pifferi{at}med.unipi.it
  • Received 11 November 2008
  • Accepted 2 September 2009
  • Published Online First 21 September 2009

Abstract

Background: The diagnosis of primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) can be challenging, and it may be particularly difficult to distinguish primary ciliary disease from the secondary changes after infections.

Objectives: The purpose of the study was to evaluate if nasal epithelial cells, obtained with nasal brushing instead of a biopsy, could be used in a culture system for the diagnosis of PCD in difficult cases.

Methods and main results: Ciliary motion analysis (CMA) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were performed on 59 subjects with persistent or recurrent pneumonia. These investigations allowed the diagnosis of PCD in 13 (22%) patients while the defect of the cilia was considered secondary to infections in 37 (63%) subjects. In the remaining nine (15%) patients the diagnostic evaluation with CMA and TEM remained inconclusive. Ciliogenesis in culture allowed the diagnosis of PCD in four of these patients, it was indicative of a secondary defect in two subjects, and it was not helpful in the remaining three patients.

Conclusions: Culture of cells obtained with brushing of the nasal turbinate is not a perfect test, nevertheless it may offer diagnostic help in doubtful cases of PCD.

Footnotes

  • Funding Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Pisa, Italy.

  • Competing interests None.

  • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.

  • Ethics approval Ethics approval for this study was obtained from the Hospital Ethics Committee of Pisa.

  • ‣ Additional methods and video clips are published online only at http://thorax.bmj.com/content/vol64/issue12

This Article

  1. Abstract
  2. Full text
  3. PDF
  4. All Versions of this Article:
    1. thx.2008.110940v1
    2. 64/12/1077 most recent

Social bookmarking

Register for free content


Free sample
 This recent issue is free to all users to allow everyone the opportunity to see the full scope and typical content of Thorax.
View free sample issue >>

Free archive
The full back archive is now available for Thorax. Institutional subscribers may access the entire archive as part of their subscription. Personal subscribers will also have access to all content when logged in. Non-subscribers who register have free access to all articles published before 2006, back to volume 1 issue 1.
Register to access the free archive >>

Don't forget to sign up for content alerts so you keep up to date with all the articles as they are published.