title: TNF alpha mRNA expression in bronchoalveolar lavage cells from patients with lung fibrosis and TNF alpha activity in the lavage supernatants.
abstract: Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF alpha) mRNA expression in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) cells from patients with lung fibrosis was studied by a reverse transcription-DNA polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The results indicated that two thirds of the tested samples were TNF alpha mRNA positive. On the other hand, TNF alpha activity was detected in a big part of the BAL supernatants from the patients. Furthermore, recombinant TNF alpha was found to be mitogenic to lung fibroblasts. These data suggest that TNF alpha expression in BAL cells may play a role in the development of lung fibrosis in human.
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology, School of Basic Medicine, Bethune University of Medical Sciences, Changchun.
authors.forename: Y L
authors.initials: YL
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: G Z
authors.initials: GZ
authors.lastname: Yang
mesh_terms: D001483:Base Sequence; D001992:Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid / Q000166:cytology*; D015870:Gene Expression; D006801:Humans; D008264:Macrophages / Q000378:metabolism; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods; D011658:Pulmonary Fibrosis / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000032:analysis*; D012194:RNA-Directed DNA Polymerase; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D012333:RNA, Messenger; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; D012194:RNA-Directed DNA Polymerase