Ciliary beat frequency and structure of recipient and donor epithelia following lung transplantation

To investigate possible changes following lung transplantation, the structure and in vitro ciliary beat frequency (CBF) of airway epithelium from the cytology brushings of 9 heart-lung (HLT) and 5 single-lung (SLT) transplant recipients were examined. The CBF of brushings taken proximal and distal to the anastomosis was measured 2-10 months following transplant. There was no difference between the measured mean CBF at the two sites or between the two groups; HLT CBF: distal 11.0 ± 0.5 Hz (standard error of mean), proximal 10.5 ± 0.4 Hz, SLT CBF: distal 11.7 ± 0.9 Hz, proximal 12.0 ± 0.6 Hz. Mean CBF of bronchial brushings (except distal brushings from SLT patients) was significantly lower than that from controls: 13.6 ± 0.3 Hz (n = 7) (p < 0.05). Transmission electron microscopy of epithelial brushings from 4 patients (3 HLT, 1 SLT) revealed epithelial abnormalities both proximal and distal to the anastomosis, particularly ciliary depletion, mitochondrial abnormalities and death of cells. No significant ciliary ultrastructural abnormalities were seen in any tissue. We conclude that epithelial abnormalities were observed both proximal and distal to the anastomosis following lung transplantation. These may contribute to impairment of mucociliary clearance.