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Fibroblast mitogens in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid from asbestos‐exposed subjects with and without clinical evidence of asbestosis: no evidence for the role of PDGF, TNF‐α, IGF‐1, or IL‐1β
Author(s) -
Mutsaers Steven E.,
Harrison Nicholas K.,
McAnulty Robin J.,
Liao Joy Y.W.,
Laurent Geoffrey J.,
Musk A. William
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
the journal of pathology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.964
H-Index - 184
eISSN - 1096-9896
pISSN - 0022-3417
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1096-9896(199806)185:2<199::aid-path75>3.0.co;2-r
Subject(s) - bronchoalveolar lavage , asbestosis , fibroblast , medicine , platelet derived growth factor receptor , cytokine , immunology , asbestos , tumor necrosis factor alpha , pulmonary fibrosis , lung , andrology , pathology , growth factor , in vitro , chemistry , receptor , biochemistry , materials science , metallurgy
Asbestosis is a fibrotic lung disease resulting from inhalation of asbestos fibres. Its pathogenesis is poorly understood but probably involves stimulation of fibroblast proliferation and collagen production by mediators released from inflammatory and resident lung cells. In vitro studies have implicated PDGF, TNF‐α, IGF‐1, TGF‐β, and IL‐1 in asbestosis, but the role of these mediators in vivo is not known. This study aimed to characterize mediators in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid from patients exposed to asbestos with ( n =24) or without ( n =34) asbestosis, compared with ten normal subjects. Human lung fibroblasts were exposed to serial dilutions of BAL fluids and the effects on fibroblast proliferation were assessed. The median mitogenic activity of BAL fluid from asbestos‐exposed (17 per cent above medium control, range 3–44 per cent) and asbestosis (14 per cent, range 2–60 per cent) groups was higher than that of BAL fluid from controls (10 per cent, range 2–20 per cent; P <0·01 and P <0·05, respectively), but there was no significant difference between the patient groups. The mitogenic activity of BAL fluids was not reduced by incubation with neutralizing antibodies to PDGF‐AA, PDGF‐AB, PDGF‐BB, TNF‐α, IGF‐1, and IL‐1β. We conclude that BAL fluids from patients exposed to asbestos contain mitogens for human lung fibroblasts, but that PDGF, TNF‐α, IGF‐1, or IL‐1β do not contribute to this activity. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.