• Misato Amenomori, Hiroshi Mukae, Noriho Sakamoto, Tomoyuki Kakugawa, Tomayoshi Hayashi, Atsuko Hara, Shintaro Hara, Hanako Fujita, Hiroshi Ishimoto, Yuji Ishimatsu, Takeshi Nagayasu, and Shigeru Kohno.
• Second Department of Internal Medicine, Nagasaki University School of Medicine, 1-7-1 Sakamoto, Nagasaki 852-8501, Japan.
• Respir Med. 2010 Jun 1; 104 (6): 895-901.

BackgroundThe histopathologic pattern is currently the most important prognostic marker for idiopathic interstitial pneumonia (IIP). However, more highly sensitive markers are now required. Heat shock protein (HSP) 47, a collagen-specific molecular chaperone, is involved in the processing and/or secretion of procollagens, and it has been demonstrated that HSP47 expression is significantly higher in the lung specimens of idiopathic UIP than in UIP associated with collagen vascular diseases (CVD). However, its expression in nonspecific interstitial pneumonia (NSIP), the other common pathological pattern of IIP, has not been well investigated. Therefore, the association between lung fibroblast HSP47 expression and prognosis in fibrotic NSIP was evaluated.MethodsSurgical lung biopsy specimens of 63 patients [idiopathic fibrotic NSIP=19, fibrotic NSIP associated with CVD=9, idiopathic UIP=26, and UIP associated with CVD=9] were reviewed, and a score for lung fibroblast HSP47 expression was assigned. These patients' clinical features and survival were also analyzed.ResultsThere was no significant difference in HSP47 expression between idiopathic fibrotic NSIP and fibrotic NSIP associated with CVD. The idiopathic fibrotic NSIP patients with higher HSP47 expression levels in their lung specimens had a poorer prognosis than patients with lower HSP47 expression levels.ConclusionsThe present results suggest that lung fibroblast HSP47 expression may be a useful new prognostic marker for idiopathic fibrotic nonspecific interstitial pneumonia.Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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