Krebs von den Lungen-6, a promising marker in evaluating the severity of interstitial lung disease in Egyptian rheumatoid arthritis patients. | LitMetric
Department of Clinical pathology , Faculty of Medicine, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt.
Published: October 2021
AI Article Synopsis
Article Abstract
Krebs von den Lungen-6 (KL-6) is one of the mucins associated with interstitial lung disease. We aimed to assess the value of KL-6 as a marker for detecting the presence of interstitial lung disease in Egyptian rheumatoid arthritis patients and to evaluate its ability to assess severity in different grades of interstitial lung disease. The study included 89 rheumatoid arthritis patients; 64 patients with interstitial lung disease and 25 patients without interstitial lung disease. Serum levels of KL-6 were assessed using enzyme linked immunosorbent assay. Levels of KL-6 were higher in patients with interstitial lung disease compared to patients without interstitial lung disease (P< 0.001). KL-6 levels were significantly higher in grade 4 patients than those in grades 1 and 2. Also, KL-6 levels were significantly higher in grade 3 patients than those in grades 1 and 2. Kl-6 levels were also higher in grade 2 patients compared to grade 1 patients. Finally, no difference was observed between grade 4 patients and grade 3 patients. KL-6 levels were significantly higher in usual interstitial pneumonia pattern compared other patterns (P=0.015). In conclusion, KL-6 is a potential circulating biomarker that may have a substantial role in detecting the presence and evaluating the severity of interstitial lung disease among rheumatoid arthritis patients.
Background: The composite physiologic index (CPI) was developed to estimate the extent of interstitial lung disease (ILD) in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) patients based on pulmonary function tests (PFTs). The CALIPER-revised version of the CPI (CALIPER-CPI) was also developed to estimate the volume fraction of ILD measured by CALIPER, an automated quantitative CT postprocessing software. Recently, artificial intelligence-based quantitative CT image analysis software (AIQCT), which can be used to quantify the bronchial volume separately from the ILD volume, was developed and validated in IPF.
Interstitial lung disease (ILD) associated with rheumatoid arthritis or with connective tissue diseases such as systemic sclerosis can be collectively named systemic autoimmune rheumatic disease-associated ILDs (SARD-ILDs) or rheumatic musculoskeletal disorder-associated ILDs. SARD-ILDs result in substantial morbidity and mortality, and there is a high medical need for effective therapies that target both fibrotic and inflammatory pathways in SARD-ILD. Phosphodiesterase 4 (PDE4) hydrolyses cyclic AMP, which regulates multiple pathways involved in inflammatory processes.
Objectives: Rituximab is emerging as a promising therapeutic option for systemic sclerosis-associated interstitial lung disease (SSc-ILD). However, little is known about factors that predict the efficacy of rituximab in SSc-ILD.
Methods: A post-hoc analysis was performed on prospective data from 48 patients with SSc-ILD in the double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled DESIRES trial.
Objectives: In patients with interstitial lung disease (ILD), the diaphragm typically rises as the lungs chronically shrink. However, the grade of restriction differs in each patient. It is currently unknown, how disparities between actual and predicted recipient total lung capacity (TLC), impact changes in lung function parameters and long-term outcomes following lung transplantation (LTx).
