INCREASED IL-6 AND IL-8 IN BRONCHOALVEOLAR LAVAGE FLUIDS (BALF) FROM PATIENTS WITH SARCOIDOSIS - CORRELATION WITH THE CLINICAL-PARAMETERS

A variety of cytokines have been implicated in the pathogenesis of pul monary sarcoidosis, but the exact roles of IL-6 and IL-8 are not pet c lear. We studied these cytokine levels in BALF from patients with pulm onary sarcoidosis, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), systemic screl osis (SSc) with interstitial lung disease and control subjects. IL-6 a nd IL-8 levels were significantly elevated in sarcoidosis, IPF and SSc with interstitial lung disease compared with control subjects. Subjec ts with sarcoidosis had significantly increased levels of both cytokin es compared with controls when the cytokine values were corrected by t he total albumin content and the two cytokine levels correlated with e ach other (r = 0.876). BALF IL-6 levels correlated with percent lympho cytes and percent CD3(+) cells. Moreover, when sarcoidosis patients we re divided into three groups, those who needed steroid therapy or had progressive disease showed increased cytokine levels in BALF over stab le or improved patients. These observations suggest that locally deriv ed IL-6 and IL-8 were increased in sarcoidosis and correlated with act ivity of this granulomatous lung disease.