Cigarette Smoking and Human Pulmonary Macrophages

Bronchial lavage recovers about four times as many free cells, particularly pulmonary alveolar macrophages, from smokers as from nonsmokers. These cells display altered surface morphology, increased lysosomal enzymes, fewer complement receptors, decreased phagocytic activity against some bacteria, and unresponsiveness to migration inhibitory factor, possibly indicating a defect in cell-mediated immunity.