Is BALT a major component of the human lung immune system?

doi:10.1016/0167-5699(92)90106-H

Immunology Today

Volume 13, Issue 4, 1992, Pages 119-122

Immunology Today

https://doi.org/10.1016/0167-5699(92)90106-H Get rights and content

Abstract

Bronchus-associated lymphoid tissue (BALT) has been shown to be an important component in the immune system of the lung of several species, notably the rabbit and the rat. Does BALT fulfil the same function in the human lung? Reinhard Pabst thinks not and proposes an integrated model of the lung immune system, in which BALT plays but a minor role.

References (41)

M.L Anderson et al.
Res. Vet. Sci.
(1986)
T.S Mair et al.
J. Comp. Pathol.
(1988)
D Nohr et al.
Brain Behav. Immunity
(1991)
H.J Meuwissen et al.
Clin. Immunol. Immunopathol.
(1982)
S.A Yousem et al.
Human Pathol.
(1985)
J Bienenstock
Immunology of the Lung and Upper Respiratory Tract
(1984)
J Bienenstock et al.
Am. J. Anat.
(1984)
J Gil et al.
R.P Daniele
Annu. Rev. Physiol.
(1990)
R.A Stockley

J Bienenstock et al.

Lab. Invest.

(1973)

J Bienenstock et al.

Lab. Invest.

(1973)

R Pabst et al.

Am. J. Respir. Cell. Mol. Biol.

(1990)

D.G Brownstein et al.

Am. J. Pathol.

(1980)

T Sminia et al.

Crit. Rev. Immunol.

(1989)

W Pankow et al.

Respiration

(1988)

Y Otsuki et al.

Am. J. Anat.

(1989)

J.S Berman

Am. J. Respir. Cell. Mol. Biol.

(1990)

J Prop et al.

Transplantation

(1985)

R.H Hruban et al.

Am. J. Pathol.

(1988)

Cited by (131)

Structure, Organization, and Development of the Mucosal Immune System of the Respiratory Tract
2015, Mucosal Immunology: Fourth Edition
The respiratory tract is served by a variety of lymphoid tissues, including the tonsils, adenoids, nasal-associated lymphoid tissue (NALT), and bronchus-associated lymphoid tissue (BALT), as well as the lymph nodes that drain the upper and lower respiratory tract. Each of these tissues uses unique mechanisms to acquire antigens and respond to pathogens in the local environment and supports immune responses that are tailored to protect those locations. This chapter will review the important features of NALT and BALT and define how these tissues contribute to immunity in the upper and lower respiratory tract, respectively.
Adaptive Immunity
2015, Murray and Nadel's Textbook of Respiratory Medicine: Volume 1,2, Sixth Edition
Interleukin-12 as an adjuvant for induction of protective antibody responses
2010, Cytokine
Interleukin (IL)-12 is a pivotal cytokine that strongly stimulates Th1-associated cellular immunity. It is now recognized that IL-12 also activates humoral immunity to both T-dependent and T-independent antigens. This has let to considerable interest in exploiting IL-12 as a vaccine adjuvant for protection against various bacterial and viral pathogens, particularly in the lung. Studies examining the efficacy of IL-12-mediated effects on protective antibody response in the mouse model are summarized in this review.
Bronchus-Associated Lymphoid Tissue (BALT). Structure and function
2010, Advances in Immunology
Citation Excerpt :
Bronchus-associated lymphoid tissue (BALT) is considered by early investigators to be a mucosal secondary lymphoid tissue embedded in the walls of the large airways (Sminia et al., 1989), similar to Peyer's patches in the small intestine. However, it is clear that BALT is not constitutively present in all mammalian species, notably mice and humans (Pabst, 1992; Pabst and Gehrke, 1990), and is induced in response to microbial exposure or other types of pulmonary inflammation (Tshering and Pabst, 2000). These inducible tissues may be more properly referred to as a tertiary or ectopic lymphoid tissue and we have coined the term inducible BALT (iBALT) to describe them (Moyron-Quiroz et al., 2004).
Bronchus-associated lymphoid tissue (BALT) is a constitutive mucosal lymphoid tissue adjacent to major airways in some mammalian species, including rats and rabbits, but not humans or mice. A related tissue, inducible BALT (iBALT), is an ectopic lymphoid tissue that is formed upon inflammation or infection in both mice and humans and can be found throughout the lung. Both BALT and iBALT acquire antigens from the airways and initiate local immune responses and maintain memory cells in the lungs. Here, we discuss the development and function of BALT and iBALT in the context of pulmonary immunity to infectious agents, tumors, and allergens as well as autoimmunity and inflammatory diseases of the lung.
Pulmonary Manifestations of Primary Sjögren's Syndrome
2008, Rheumatic Disease Clinics of North America
Citation Excerpt :
Subepithelial aggregates of lymphoid tissue in bronchi and bronchioles have been labeled BALT.73 The presence of BALT in normal human lung remains debated, but there is no doubt that this tissue can be induced under certain pathologic conditions, including: chronic lung infections, chronic viral infections, including HIV, and autoimmune conditions including SS.73,74 Proliferation of BALT may result in peribronchial lymphoid hyperplasia, which can cause airway obstruction, one of the more common pulmonary manifestations of SS,34,39,75 or alveolar interstitial LIP.
Manipulation of acute inflammatory lung disease
2008, Mucosal Immunology
Inflammatory lung disease to innocuous antigens or infectious pathogens is a common occurrence and in some cases, life threatening. Often, the inflammatory infiltrate that accompanies these events contributes to pathology by deleterious effects on otherwise healthy tissue and by compromising lung function by consolidating (blocking) the airspaces. A fine balance, therefore, exists between a lung immune response and immune-mediated damage, and in some the “threshold of ignorance” may be set too low. In most cases, the contributing, potentially offending, cell population or immune pathway is known, as are factors that regulate them. Why then are targeted therapeutic strategies to manipulate them not more commonplace in clinical medicine? This review highlights immune homeostasis in the lung, how and why this is lost during acute lung infection, and strategies showing promise as future immune therapeutics.

View all citing articles on Scopus

View full text

viewpointIs BALT a major component of the human lung immune system?

Abstract

Res. Vet. Sci.

J. Comp. Pathol.

Brain Behav. Immunity

Clin. Immunol. Immunopathol.

Human Pathol.

Immunology of the Lung and Upper Respiratory Tract

Am. J. Anat.

Annu. Rev. Physiol.

Lab. Invest.

Lab. Invest.

Am. J. Respir. Cell. Mol. Biol.

Am. J. Pathol.

Crit. Rev. Immunol.

Respiration

Am. J. Anat.

Am. J. Respir. Cell. Mol. Biol.

Transplantation

Am. J. Pathol.

viewpoint
Is BALT a major component of the human lung immune system?