Clinical and experimental immunology
-
Clin. Exp. Immunol. · Aug 2007
CXCL9 and 11 in patients with pulmonary sarcoidosis: a role of alveolar macrophages.
Interferon-inducible protein-10 (IP-10)/CXCL10, which is a ligand for CXC chemokine receptor 3 (CXCR3), is known to be involved in the pathogenesis of pulmonary sarcoidosis. However, the roles of monokine induced by interferon gamma (Mig)/CXCL9 and interferon-inducible T cell alpha chemoattractant (I-TAC)/CXCL11, which are also CXCR3 ligands, remain unclear. Mig/CXCL9, IP-10/CXCL10 and I-TAC/CXCL11 in both bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and serum in patients with pulmonary sarcoidosis were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). ⋯ Alveolar macrophages were stained positive for all CXCR3 ligands and produced increased amounts of these chemokines. Positive staining of the three chemokines was also observed in the epithelioid and giant cells in the sarcoid lungs. These findings suggest that Mig/CXCL9 and I-TAC/CXCL11 as well as IP-10/CXCL10 play important roles in the accumulation of Th1 lymphocytes in sarcoid lungs.