High speed cinemicrographic studies on rabbit tracheal (ciliated) epithelia: cytolytic effect of cystic fibrosis serum on tracheal epithelial cells.

High speed cinemicrographs are made on the ciliary activity of rabbit tracheal 
cilia with the aid of Nomarski optics. The detailed nature of 
the ciliary beat pattern is determined from slow motion analysis of 
the high speed cinemicrographs (1-3). Such documented forms of ciliary beat 
pattern and the physiologic state of the tracheal epithelia are utilized 
as basic reference controls to investigate the physiologic effects of cystic 
fibrosis serum on ciliated epithelia and the cystic fibrosis tracheal mucus 
stagnation phenomenon. Careful analyses of the high speed cinemicrographs reveal that 
cystic fibrosis serum has no effect on the rhythm and beat 
pattern of rabbit tracheal cilia. However, it is shown in controlled 
procedures that cystic fibrosis serum has a cytolytic effect on the 
tracheal epithelial cells and also at the cell junctions. Ciliary dyskinesis, 
as described in previous reports (6-9), is actually a secondary effect 
of cytolysis and cell destruction. 