Generation of superoxide anion by alveolar macrophages in sarcoidosis: evidence for the activation of the oxygen metabolism in patients with high-intensity alveolitis

We studied superoxide anion (O2) generation by alveolar macrophages (AM) isolated from bronchoalveolar lavages (BAL) of patients with sarcoidosis, and assayed immediately after the isolation or after maintenance in culture for 2 days. In assays of cells freshly isolated from BAL, AM of patients with active sarcoidosis with a high-intensity lymphocytic alveolitis produced more O2- in response to phorbol myristate acetate than AM of patients with inactive sarcoidosis. Also, after 2 days of cultivation sarcoid AM were heterogeneous in their capability to metabolize oxygen, although both AM of active and inactive sarcoid patients produced higher amounts of O2- than AM of healthy subjects. In vitro treatment with recombinant interferon-gamma (rIFN-gamma) caused an enhancement of the capability of AM of inactive sarcoid patients to produce O2- in response to PMA. AM of patients with active sarcoidosis did not respond to rIFN-gamma when they already produced O2- vigorously. However, they became sensitive to the