Aspectes ètics de la innovació clínica: la cirurgia com a exemple

Ètica; Innovació quirúrgica; TransparènciaÉtica; Innovación quirúrgica; TransparenciaEthics; Surgical innovation; TransparencyAquest document no pot ser de caràcter normatiu, més quan es tracta d’un terreny difícil de delimitar. El que es pretén es impulsar un debat entre totes les parts implicades en la innovació quirúrgica (intervencionisme en general), és a dir, entre pacients i associacions que els representen, professionals i societats científiques i institucions i finançadors de l’assistència i la recerca en ciències de la salut, per tal que el procés d’innovació clínica es pugui portar a terme en unes condicions més favorables al progrés i millora de la qualitat en l’atenció i en la seguretat dels pacients

γδ T lymphocytes from cystic fibrosis patients and healthy donors are high TNF-α and IFN-γ-producers in response to Pseudomonas aeruginosa

BACKGROUND: γδ T cells have an important immunoregulatory and effector function through cytokine release. They are involved in the responses to Gram-negative bacterium and in protection of lung epithelium integrity. On the other hand, they have been implicated in airway inflammation. METHODS: The aim of the present work was to study intracytoplasmic IL-2, IL-4, IFN-γ and TNF-α production by γδ and αβ T lymphocytes from cystic fibrosis patients and healthy donors in response to Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA). Flow cytometric detection was performed after peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) culture with a cytosolic extract from PA and restimulation with phorbol ester plus ionomycine. Proliferative responses, activation markers and receptor usage of γδ T cells were also evaluated. RESULTS: The highest production of cytokine was of TNF-α and IFN-γ, γδ being better producers than αβ. No differences were found between patients and controls. The Vγ9δ2 subset of γδ T cells was preferentially expanded. CD25 and CD45RO expression by the αβ T subset and PBMC proliferative response to PA were defective in cystic fibrosis lymphocytes. CONCLUSION: Our results support the hypothesis that γδ T lymphocytes play an important role in the immune response to PA and in the chronic inflammatory lung reaction in cystic fibrosis patients. They do not confirm the involvement of a supressed Th1 cytokine response in the pathogenesis of this disease