title: A Normal Range of KL-6/MUC1 Independent of Elevated SP-D Indicates a Better Prognosis in the Patients with Honeycombing on High-Resolution Computed Tomography.
abstract: Both SP-D and KL-6/MUC1 are established biomarkers of the interstitial pneumonias, including idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), but the causes and clinical outcomes based on their independent effects are not known. Eleven asymptomatic patients, detected with honeycombing on high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT), were compared with 17 other IPF outpatients having slight respiratory symptoms and honeycombing as well. Although SP-D was increased in both groups, KL-6 was significantly higher in the symptomatic IPF group. When the patients (n = 11) having both biomarkers elevated were compared with the other patients (n = 6) with only SP-D elevated, the distribution of fibrotic lesions with honeycombing on HRCT was larger and the survival time was shorter in the patients having both biomarkers elevated. Immunohistochemical analysis also differentiated these biomarkers in the lung. These results suggest both a cause and the prognostic value of dissociation of these biomarkers.
authors.affiliation: Department of Respiratory Medicine, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, 1-1 Seiryo, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8574, Japan.
authors.forename: Shu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hisata
authors.forename: Yuichiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kimura
authors.forename: Naoko
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Shibata
authors.forename: Shuichi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ono
authors.forename: Takao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kobayashi
authors.forename: Shigeki
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chiba
authors.forename: Hiromitsu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ohta
authors.forename: Toshihiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nukiwa
authors.forename: Masahito
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ebina