Elevated serum concentrations of triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells-1 in diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis: association with severity of pulmonary fibrosis.
OBJECTIVE
To determine serum concentrations and clinical association of soluble triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells-1 (sTREM-1) in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc).


METHODS
Serum sTREM-1 levels from 17 patients with limited cutaneous SSc (lSSc), 24 patients with diffuse cutaneous SSc (dSSc), and 29 healthy control individuals were examined by ELISA.


RESULTS
Total SSc patients exhibited significantly elevated serum sTREM-1 levels relative to controls (p < 0.01). Serum sTREM-1 levels were significantly elevated in patients with dSSc compared to controls (p < 0.005) and lSSc patients (p < 0.05). By contrast, sTREM-1 levels in lSSc were similar to those in controls. Serum sTREM-1 levels were significantly elevated in SSc patients with decreased percentage vital capacity (%VC). Consistent with this, serum sTREM-1 levels in SSc patients correlated negatively with %VC (r = -0.24, p < 0.005). Among SSc patients with pulmonary fibrosis, sTREM-1 levels were significantly increased in patients with decreased %VC or decreased percentage of diffusion capacity for carbon monoxide relative to those with normal values (p < 0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
Serum sTREM-1 levels were elevated in dSSc patients and correlated with severity of pulmonary fibrosis, suggesting that serum sTREM-1 is a novel serological marker for the disease severity of SSc.
Department of Dermatology, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Sakamoto, Nagasaki, Japan.
Hajime
H
Tomita
Fumihide
F
Ogawa
Toshihide
T
Hara
Koichi
K
Yanaba
Yohei
Y
Iwata
Eiji
E
Muroi
Ayumi
A
Yoshizaki
Kazuhiro
K
Komura
Motoi
M
Takenaka
Kazuhiro
K
Shimizu
Minoru
M
Hasegawa
Manabu
M
Fujimoto
Shinichi
S
Sato
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins / Q000097:blood*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011658:Pulmonary Fibrosis / Q000097:blood* / Q000150:complications; D011971:Receptors, Immunologic / Q000097:blood*; D045743:Scleroderma, Diffuse / Q000097:blood* / Q000150:complications; D045745:Scleroderma, Limited / Q000097:blood* / Q000150:complications; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D000073871:Triggering Receptor Expressed on Myeloid Cells-1
D015415:Biomarkers; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins; D011971:Receptors, Immunologic; C408842:TREM1 protein, human; D000073871:Triggering Receptor Expressed on Myeloid Cells-1