Hyaluronate in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid in sarcoidosis and its relationship to alveolar cell populations.
Hyaluronate is a potential marker of activated pulmonary fibroblasts and appears in increased amounts in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid from patients with sarcoidosis. This study was performed to investigate a possible link between the local immune response and pulmonary fibroblast proliferation. The median hyaluronate concentration in the lavage fluid from 23 sarcoid patients was 12.0 (interquartile range 7.5-28.5) micrograms/l. The hyaluronate concentration was positively correlated to the concentration and proportion of lymphocytes (p less than 0.001 and p less than 0.01, respectively) as well as to the concentrations of T lymphocyte subsets (OKT4+ p less than 0.01, OKT8+ p less than 0.05). No correlation was found between the hyaluronate concentration and the OKT4+/OKT8+ ratio. Furthermore, a significant correlation was observed in the lavage fluid between hyaluronate and angiotensin-converting enzyme, a marker of monocyte/macrophage activity (p less than 0.01). Thus, the intensity of the sarcoid alveolitis was associated with biochemical signs of pulmonary fibroblast proliferation/activation in sarcoidosis.
Eklund
A
A
Department of Thoracic Medicine, Karolinska Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden.
Hällgren
R
R
Blaschke
E
E
Engström-Laurent
A
A
Persson
U
U
Svane
B
B
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001992:Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D005347:Fibroblasts / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D006820:Hyaluronic Acid / Q000378:metabolism*; D008171:Lung Diseases / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000503:physiopathology; D008176:Lung Volume Measurements; D008264:Macrophages / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D007703:Peptidyl-Dipeptidase A / Q000378:metabolism; D011650:Pulmonary Alveoli / Q000378:metabolism; D012507:Sarcoidosis / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000503:physiopathology; D006377:T-Lymphocytes, Helper-Inducer / Q000378:metabolism; D050378:T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory / Q000378:metabolism
D006820:Hyaluronic Acid; D007703:Peptidyl-Dipeptidase A