Testing of transport, measurement of ciliary activity

Abstract

The mucociliary transport rate can be measured in vivo using either the saccharine and/or color test or radioisotope transport testing as well as by measuring ciliary activity in vitro. Inborn disorders of the mucociliary transport as in primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) result in the absence of mucociliary transport. Nasal nitric oxide (nNO) was found to be 10-fold lower in PCD patients. None of these tests is absolutely reliable for the diagnosis of inherited abnormalities. Sequential monolayer-suspension cell culture with dedifferentiation and redifferentiation of the ciliated epithelium improves the reliability of PCD diagnosis.