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MASANORI FUNAUCHI, HIDEKI SHIMADSU, CHISE TAMAKI, TOSHIAKI YAMAGATA, YUJI NOZAKI, MASAFUMI SUGIYAMA, SHINYA IKOMA, and KOJI KINOSHITA ABSTRACT. Objective. Polymyositis and dermatomyositis (PM/DM) are often complicated by interstitial pneumonitis (IP), which is an important cause of death. It has been reported that blood concentration of transforming growth factor-ß (TGF-ß), which is produced by a wide range of cells including endothelial cells and enhances the fibrotic changes in various tissues, is increased in PM/DM with IP. Endothelial damage is likely to exist in PM/DM. We studied the relationship between endothelial damage and IP in PM/DM. Methods. Blood levels of sialylated carbohydrate antigen KL-6, TGF-ß, endothelin-1 (ET-1), thrombomodulin (TM), and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) were determined in 43 patients with PM or DM with or without IP, and the relationship between these measures was analyzed. Results. Blood levels of KL-6 and TGF-ß were higher in the patients with IP than those without, and these measures were well correlated with each other. Levels of ET-1, TM, and PAI-1, all known to reflect the extent of endothelial damage, were also increased in patients with IP, and these measures correlated well with TGF-ß. Conclusion. Our data suggest that endothelial damage might play an important role through the production of fibrosis-enhancing factors such as TGF-ß or ET-1 in PM/DM. (J Rheumatol 2006;33:903–6) Key Indexing Terms: INTERSTITIAL PNEUMONITIS
From the Department of Nephrology and Rheumatology, Kinki University School of Medicine, Osaka, Japan. M. Funauchi, MD; H. Shimadsu; C. Tamaki; T. Yamagata, MD; Y. Nozaki, MD; M. Sugiyama, MD; S. Ikoma, MD; K. Kinoshita, MD. Address reprint requests to Dr. M. Funauchi, Department of Nephrology and Rheumatology, Kinki University School of Medicine, 377-2 Ohno-Higashi, Osaka-Sayama 589-8511, Osaka, Japan. E-mail: funauchi@med.kindai.ac.jp Accepted for publication December 16, 2005.
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