[Experimental study of an animal model of diffuse panbronchiolitis].

OBJECTIVE

To establish an animal model of diffuse panbronchiolitis (DPB) and to investigate the pathogenesis of DPB.

METHODS

Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were intubated with a silicone tube pre-coated with Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa) in the bronchus. After sixty days, the pathological changes of lung tissue were analyzed.

RESULTS

Pathological changes characteristic of DPB were found in the SD rats after the placement of a silicate tube pre-coated with P. aeruginosa in the bronchus. The lung pathology was characterized by diffuse inflammation around bronchi and bronchioles in both lungs, and thickening of the walls of bronchioles with infiltration of lymphocytes, plasma cells, and histiocytes. In addition, bronchus-associated lymphoid tissue (BALT) hyperplasia and accumulation of foamy cells were observed around the bronchi. Thickened walls and enlarged lumen of pulmonary arteries were also noticed occasionally.

CONCLUSION

The SD rat model of DPB could be established by infection of P. aeruginosa.