Change of prostaglandin E_2 and interleukin-12, interleukin-13 in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and the serum of the patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

Objective To detect the levels of prostaglandin E 2(PGE 2) and interleukin-12(IL-12), IL-13 in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid(BALF) and the serum of patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and to investigate the significance of their change in the pathogenesis of IPF. Methods Radioimmunoassay(RIA) and enzyme-linked immunoadsordent assay(ELISA) were used to detect the levels of PGE 2 and IL-12,IL-13 in the BALF and the serum of patients with IPF. Results In the BALF of patients with IPF, the levels of PGE 2(591±88)ng/L and IL-13(38±5)ng/L were higher than that of the control group(P0.01),and the level of IL-12(1.34±0.25)ng/L was lower than that of control group. In the patients with IPF, the change of IL-13 in the serum was consistent with the change in the BALF. But the levels of PGE 2(235±13)ng/L and IL-12(2.35±0.14)ng/L in the serum showed no significant difference between the patients with IPF and the control group. Conclusions In the patients with IPF the increase of PGE 2 may be correlated with the increase of IL-13 and the decrease of IL-12. It suggests that disequilibrium of Th1/Th2 plays an important role in the development of IPF.The increase of PGE 2 in IPF is a local event rather than a systemic effect.