title: Expression of suppressor of cytokine signaling 1 in the peripheral blood of patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a progressive diffuse parenchymal disease with a poor prognosis. A variety of cytokines and chemokines are involved in its pathophysiology. The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical features in IPF patients with the expression of suppressor of cytokine signaling 1 (SOCS-1), which acts as a negative regulator of cytokine signaling.
  
  
  METHODS
  IPF patients (n = 20) and healthy controls (n = 16) were included in this study. The expression of SOCS-1 was analyzed in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) of subjects using RT-PCR. Interleukin 4 (IL-4), transforming growth factor β1 (TGF-β1) and type I collagen expression were also analyzed in each individual using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The clinical characteristics of IPF patients were delineated. These results were analyzed by SPSS13.0 statistics software.
  
  
  RESULTS
  SOCS-1 mRNA expression was significantly decreased in the PBMC of IPF patients compared with healthy controls; serum levels of IL-4 and TGF-β1 were higher in IPF patients. The patients with lower expression of SOCS-1 developed lower percentage of forced vital capacity (FVC%) and DLCO/VA. A patients' SOCS-1 mRNA level was negatively correlated with serum levels of IL-4, and negatively correlated with their high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) scores.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  SOCS-1 mRNA can be detected in PBMC, and it is down-regulated in IPF patients. The expression of SOCS-1 is associated with the severity of IPF patients' symptoms, so it might be the predictor of disease severity. SOCS-1 might play an important role in IPF by reducing the expression of the T helper type 2 (Th2) cell-related cytokine IL-4.
authors.affiliation: Department of Respiratory Medicine, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China; Department of Respiratory Medicine, Shanghai First People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200080, China.
authors.forename: Zhiyao
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Bao
authors.affiliation: Department of Respiratory Medicine, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China.
authors.forename: Qiurui
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Respiratory Medicine, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China.
authors.forename: Huanying
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wan
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Microbiology and Parasitology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China.
authors.forename: Ping
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: He
authors.affiliation: Department of Respiratory Medicine, Shanghai First People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200080, China. Email: cnshzhoumin@live.cn.
authors.forename: Xin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Department of Respiratory Medicine, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China.
authors.forename: Min
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zhou
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D054990:Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis / Q000378:metabolism*; D015847:Interleukin-4 / Q000378:metabolism; D007963:Leukocytes, Mononuclear / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D000071222:Suppressor of Cytokine Signaling 1 Protein; D050826:Suppressor of Cytokine Signaling Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D053773:Transforming Growth Factor beta1 / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: C108944:SOCS1 protein, human; D000071222:Suppressor of Cytokine Signaling 1 Protein; D050826:Suppressor of Cytokine Signaling Proteins; D053773:Transforming Growth Factor beta1; D015847:Interleukin-4