Serum Levels of IL-8 and ICAM-1 as Biomarkers for Progressive Massive Fibrosis in Coal Workers' Pneumoconiosis

• Published in: Journal of Korean medical science Vol. 30; no. 2; pp. 140 - 144
• Main Authors: Lee, Jong Seong, Shin, Jae Hoon, Choi, Byung-Soon
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Korea (South) The Korean Academy of Medical Sciences 01.02.2015; 대한의학회
• Subjects: Aged; Anthracosis - blood; Anthracosis - pathology; Biomarkers - blood; Chemokine CCL3 - blood; Coal Mining; Humans; Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1 - blood; Interleukin-8 - blood; Lung - pathology; Male; Middle Aged; Occupational Diseases - blood; Occupational Diseases - pathology; Original; Pulmonary Fibrosis - blood; Pulmonary Fibrosis - pathology; 의학일반; Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1; Progressive Massive Fibrosis; Interleukin-8; Macrophage Inflammatory Protein-1 Alpha; Coal Workers' Pneumoconiosis
• ISSN: 1011-8934; 1598-6357; 1598-6357
• DOI: 10.3346/jkms.2015.30.2.140

Coal workers' pneumoconiosis (CWP) is characterized as a chronic inflammation of the lung associated with activation of macrophages and endothelial cells in the lung. The aim of the present study was to compare the levels of serum interleukin-8 (IL-8), macrophage inflammatory protein-1α (MIP-α), and intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) as biomarkers for progressive massive fibrosis (PMF) in 106 subjects (27 non-CWP and 79 CWP patients). The levels of serum IL-8 (P<0.001) and ICAM-1 (P=0.001) of subjects with PMF were higher than those of non-CWP subjects. The IL-8 levels of PMF subjects were also higher than those of simple CWP subjects (P=0.003). Among the subjects without PMF, IL-8 levels in the subjects with International Labour Organization (ILO) category II or III were higher than those in the subjects with ILO category 0 (P=0.006) and with category I (P=0.026). These results suggest that high serum levels of IL-8 and ICAM-1, which are important as neutrophil attractants and adhesion molecules, are associated with PMF.