Cytokine levels in the sera of patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

• Published in: Respiratory medicine 2006-05, Vol.100 (5), p.938-945
• Main Authors: Tsoutsou, Pelagia G., Gourgoulianis, Konstantinos I., Petinaki, Efthymia, Germenis, Anastassios, Tsoutsou, Anthousa G., Mpaka, Maria, Efremidou, Smaragda, Molyvdas, Pashalis-Adam
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aged; Biological and medical sciences; Cytokines; Cytokines - blood; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; Female; Forced Expiratory Volume; Humans; Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis; Interferon- γ; Interleukins; Lungs; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Multivariate analysis; Pathogenesis; Pneumology; Prospective Studies; Pulmonary Fibrosis - blood; Pulmonary Fibrosis - immunology; Respiratory system : syndromes and miscellaneous diseases; Rodents; Serum; Statistical analysis; Vital Capacity
• ISSN: 0954-6111; 1532-3064
• DOI: 10.1016/j.rmed.2005.06.016

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a fibroproliferative disorder. Cytokines contribute an important but yet undefined role to its pathogenesis. The present study aims to compare serum levels of cytokines involved in Th-1 and Th-2 immunity, such as interleukins (IL) IL-2, IL-4, IL-8, IL-10, interferon- γ (IFN- γ) and IL-12 (p40) in patients with IPF and healthy volunteers. Twenty patients with IPF and 40 healthy controls (HC) participated. Cytokines were assessed by enzyme-linked immunoabsorbent assay (ELISA). Median values of serum IL-2, IL-8, IL-10, IL-12 (p40) were higher in the IPF than the control group: IPF group: 1.05 U/ml, 12.55, 10.13, 44.17 pg/ml; control group: 0.05 U/ml, 6.91, 0.75, 4.51 pg/ml, respectively ( P < 0.05 ) . IFN- γ serum levels were lower in the IPF (0.19 pg/ml) than in the control group (0.49 pg/ml). IL-4 values did not differ in a statistically significant way among the groups: 8.40 pg/ml in the IPF group, and 7.46 pg/ml in the control group ( P > 0.05 ) . IL-4 positively correlated to fast expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV 1%) and forced vital capacity (FVC%), while IL-8 negatively correlated to the respective values ( P < 0.005 ) . IL-2, IL-8, IL-10 and IL-12 (p40) were found to be elevated in the sera of patients with IPF. IFN- γ was found to be decreased in the sera of patients with IPF.