A possible role of galectin-9 in the pulmonary fibrosis of patients with interstitial pneumonia.

Background: Galectin-9 (Gal-9) is a β-galactoside-binding protein that induces biological reactions, such as cell activation, chemoattraction, and apoptosis. We evaluated the role of Gal-9 in the pathogenesis of interstitial pneumonia (IP).

Methods: Gal-9 levels in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) of patients with IP associated with collagen vascular disease (CVD-IP) and with idiopathic interstitial pneumonias (IIPs), including idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and idiopathic nonspecific interstitial pneumonia (idiopathic NSIP), were estimated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

[Bilateral pulmonary mucormycosis with diabetic ketoacidosis].

A 38 year-old woman admitted for bilateral infiltrates with a cavity and treated diabetic ketoacidosis and elevated inflammatory reaction in clinical examination was found in transbronchial lung biopsy specimens to have bilateral pulmonary mucormycosis. We controlled blood glucose with insulin and removed bilateral pulmonary lesions separately. Pulmonary mucormycosis with diabetic ketoacidosis is a rare but fatal fungal infection.

[A case of Westermani Paragonimiasis with atypical change of CT findings].

A 47-year-old man presented with bloody sputum and a cavitary mass shadow was formed in his right middle lobe. Transbronchial lung biopsy revealed the presence of parasite eggs and eosinophil infiltration. Based on the positive reaction against Westermani Paragonimus by multiple dot ELISA, Westermani Paragonimiasis was diagnosed.

Elevated serum beta-defensins concentrations in patients with lung cancer.

Background: Beta-defensins (HBDs) are expressed in lung epithelial cells and act as antimicrobial agents. Most lung cancers that originate from pulmonary epithelial cells may produce HBDs.

Materials And Methods: We measured serum HBD-1 and HBD-2 levels in healthy subjects (HS), patients with lung cancer and patients with pneumonia by radioimmunoassay.

[A case of eosinophilic pneumonia caused by visceral larva migrans due to Ascaris suum].

A 50-year-old male, living in the rural distinct of Kagoshima Prefecture complained of high fever and fatigue. Chest X-ray showed ground glass opacities in the right lung field. His symptoms and radiographic findings were gradually improved by intravenous or per os administraions of some antibiotics intravenously or per os.

[Farmer's lung cases of a farmer and his son with high BAL fluid beta-D glucan levels].

A farmer and his son, who treated straw in a cowshed, were admitted to our hospital because of severe dyspnea during summer time. Their chest X-ray films revealed bilateral reticulonodular shadows in the middle to lower lung fields. Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid analyses showed a high proportion of lymphocytes and an increased CD4/8 ratio.

High concentrations of alpha-defensins in plasma and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid of patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome.

alpha-Defensins, antimicrobial peptides localized in neutrophils, participate in tissue damage through their cytotoxic effects in neutrophil-mediated pulmonary diseases. Neutrophils play an important role in the pathogenesis of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). We measured alpha-defensins levels in plasma and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) of ARDS patients to assess the kinetics of alpha-defensins in ARDS.

A possible role of TARC in antigen-specific Th2-dominant responses in patients with Paragonimiasis westermani.

Background: Paragonimiasis westermani (Pw), a common parasitic zoonosis in Asia, is typically associated with eosinophilia. Th2 cytokines seem to have an important role in the clinical manifestations of this disease. Thymus and activation-regulated chemokine (TARC) is a potential key regulator of Th2-mediated inflammation.

Elevated levels of circulating adhesion molecules in patients with active pulmonary tuberculosis.

Objective: Recent studies have indicated the importance of cell adhesion molecules in the pathogenesis of various inflammatory lung diseases. Our study was designed to determine whether five soluble adhesion molecules including soluble L-, E- and P-selectin (sL-, sE- and sP-selectin), intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1), and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (sVCAM-1) in serum reflect the severity of active pulmonary tuberculosis (TB), and whether there is a distinct profile of these soluble molecules in this disease.

Methodology: Using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays, we measured the serum levels of these five soluble adhesion molecules in 31 patients with active TB and 11 healthy volunteers.

[A case of negative pressure pulmonary hemorrhage (NPPH) due to upper airway obstruction induced by asphyxia].

A non-smoking 76-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital complaining of cough, bloodstained sputum and difficulty in breathing that had developed while she was eating a meal. The initial diagnosis was upper airway obstruction. Her past history revealed no major illness, except that she was under medication for the treatment of hypertension.