Concentrations of Type III Procollagen N-terminal Peptide in Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid in Patients with Idiopathic Interstitial Pneumonia

Abstract

Concentrations of type III procollagen N-terminal peptide (PC-III-P) in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) were determined in 16 patients with idiopathic interstitial pneumonia (IIP). The concentrations of PC-III-P in BALF in the patients with IIP in the active stage were significantly higher than those in both cases of IIP in the inactive stage and control subjects. Although serum concentrations of PC-III-P in patients with IIP tended to be higher than those in the controls, there was no significant difference in serum concentration of PC-III-P between the patients with IIP and the controls, and also there was no significant difference between the patients with IIP in the active stage and those in the inactive stage. The pretreatment levels of concentrations of PC-III-P in BALF were higher in the patients treated effectively by glucocorticoid therapy than in those not effectively treated. These results suggest that the determination of concentrations of PC-III-P in BALF is useful as a method for evaluating the activity of IIP, and also for predicting the efficacy of glucocorticoid therapy for patients with IIP.