DETECTION OF PSORIASIS-ASSOCIATED ANTIGEN PSO P27 IN SARCOIDOSIS BRONCHOALVEOLAR LAVAGE FLUID USING MONOCLONAL-ANTIBODIES

Sarcoidosis is a multisystem granulomatous disorder of unknown etiolog y, predominantly affecting the lung. The increased concentration of pu lmonary lymphocytes with specific receptors in subgroups of sarcoidosi s patients suggests a local specific immune response. pso p27, a psori atic scale antigen linked to the pathogenesis of psoriasis, was previo usly found in BAL cells, serum, and Kveim-Siltzback test in sarcoidosi s. With an enzyme-linked immunoassay based on murine monoclonal antibo dies, we analyzed BAL fluid from 21 patients with pulmonary sarcoidosi s. Eleven (52%) of the patients have detectable levels of pso p27 anti gen. No antigen is detected in the BAL fluid from five healthy, nonsmo king controls. Serum concentrations of pso p27 shows no significant di fference between the two groups, but three of the sarcoidosis patients have detectable levels of the antigen. Mean concentration of pso p27 is >100 fold higher in BAL fluid than in serum from the sarcoidosis pa tients. This strongly suggests local pulmonary production of pso p27 a ntigen. (C) 1996 Academic Press, Inc.