• Miriana d'Alessandro, Laura Bergantini, Paolo Cameli, Lucia Vietri, Nicola Lanzarone, Valerio Alonzi, Maria Pieroni, M RefiniRosaRRespiratory Diseases & Lung Transplantation, Department of Medical & Surgical Sciences & Neurosciences, Siena University Hospital, Siena, Italy., Piersante Sestini, Francesco Bonella, and Elena Bargagli.
• Respiratory Diseases & Lung Transplantation, Department of Medical & Surgical Sciences & Neurosciences, Siena University Hospital, Siena, Italy.
• Biomark Med. 2020 Jun 1; 14 (8): 665-674.

AbstractAim: Interstitial lung diseases (ILD) are a group of lung disorders characterized by interstitial lung thickening. Krebs von den Lungen-6 (KL-6) is a molecule that is predominantly expressed by damaged alveolar type II cells and it has been proposed as a potential biomarker of different ILD. Materials & methods: A growing literature about KL-6 has been reviewed and selected to evaluate its role in the clinical management of ILD to predict disease diagnosis, activity, prognosis and treatment response. Results: KL-6 concentrations have been evaluated in fibrotic and granulomatous lung diseases and it was demonstrated to be a biomarker of disease severity useful for clinical follow-up of ILD patients. KL-6 levels differentiated between fibrotic ILD, such as idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and chronic hypersensitivity pneumonitis, and nonfibrotic lung disorders, including sarcoidosis and pulmonary alveolar proteinosis. Conclusion: KL-6 is predictive biomarker useful in the clinical management of ILD patients, in particular in patients with severe fibrotic lung disorders.

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