Expression of immunoreactive activin A protein in remodeling lesions associated with interstitial pulmonary fibrosis.
The expression of activin A, one of the transforming growth factor-beta supergene family, was studied in various pulmonary conditions associated with interstitial pulmonary fibrosis (3 cases with diffuse alveolar damage, 6 cases with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, and 1 case with pulmonary fibrosis associated with rheumatoid arthritis) using immunohistochemical techniques on paraffin-embedded sections. Controls consisted of 10 cases with normal pulmonary parenchyma, and 2 cases with primary pulmonary hypertension and 1 case with secondary pulmonary hypertension were also studied. The lung specimens from normal parenchyma weakly expressed immunoreactive activin A on the bronchiolar epithelium. In marked contrast, all of the specimens from cases with diffuse alveolar damage and interstitial pulmonary fibrosis demonstrated strong expression of activin A on metaplastic epithelium, hyperplastic smooth muscle cells, desquamated cells, and alveolar macrophages. Pulmonary arteries from patients with primary or secondary pulmonary hypertension showed abundant immunoreactive activin A on smooth muscle cells. These findings suggest a potential role for this growth factor, activin A, in the pathogenesis of pulmonary tissue remodeling associated with interstitial pulmonary fibrosis.
Matsuse
T
T
Department of Geriatrics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tokyo, Japan.
Ikegami
A
A
Ohga
E
E
Hosoi
T
T
Oka
T
T
Kida
K
K
Fukayama
M
M
Inoue
S
S
Nagase
T
T
Ouchi
Y
Y
Fukuchi
Y
Y
D028341:Activins; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000150:complications; D006133:Growth Substances / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D007265:Inhibins / Q000378:metabolism*; D011650:Pulmonary Alveoli / Q000473:pathology; D011658:Pulmonary Fibrosis / Q000150:complications / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology*; D013194:Staining and Labeling; D014018:Tissue Distribution
D006133:Growth Substances; D028341:Activins; D007265:Inhibins