A difference in the composition of bronchial mucus between smokers and non-smokers.

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Abstract
The ratio of the amount of sulfated to sialic acid mucin (Su/Si) in mucous glands of the human tracheobronchial tree was investigated in 7 smokers and 7 non-smokers. The 2 mucins were studied in histological sections stained by the high iron diamine/Alcian blue pH 2.5 sequence and assessed by a point-counting method. Su/Si was greater in smokers than in non-smokers, who were almost completely distinguished by this ratio. A decrease in the ratio with each generation of branching from the trachea down the inferior lingular bronchial segmental pathway was seen in smoking and non-smoking groups. Analysis of the logarithm of Su/Si showed the smoking group means were 2.3 times that of non-smokers at each generation, and over both groups the average decrease down successive generations was given by a factor of 0.9.