Objective: To detect the levels of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) 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 immunoadsorbent assay (ELISA) were used to detect the levels of PGE2 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 PGE2 (591 +/- 88) ng/L and IL-13 (38 +/- 5) ng/L were higher than that of the control group (P < 0.01), 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 PGE2 (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 PGE2 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 PGE2 in IPF is a local event rather than a systemic effect.