Abstract
Fibronectin (FN) levels and type III procollagen N-terminal peptide (pIIIp) in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) from patients with idiopathic interstitial pneumonia (IIP), interstitial pneumonitis due to definite causes (IP) and normal volunteers (NV) were evaluated. The levels of FN albumin ratio in BALF from IIP patients were significantly higher than those from normal volunteers, especially in non-smokers. The levels of pIIIp albumin ratio in BALF from IIP patients and IP patients were also significantly higher than those from normal volunteers. However, but there is no correlation between the levels of FN albumin ratio and those of pIIIp albumin ratios in BALF from IIP patients. On the other hand, the localization of pIIIp by immunohistochemical examination (EIA stain) in the post-mortem lung of a patient with IIP concurred with that of FN. From the clinical aspect, the levels of FN albumin ratios in BALF from IIP patients correlate with A-aDO2 from the analysis of arterial blood gas, and the levels of pIIIp albumin ratio in BALF from IIP negatively correlate with the duration of symptoms. We tentatively conclude that levels of FN albumin ratio in BALF may show the disease activity, and that those of pIIIp albumin ratio may be useful to predict the duration from the onset or the exacerbation of IIP.
