Takeyama M, Nagai S, Kondo K, Morikawa N, Mio T, Satake N, Kitaichi M, Izumi T
Dept of Clinical Pharmacy, Oita Medical University, Japan.
Eur Respir J. 1993 Mar;6(3):418-24.
The neuropeptide gastrin releasing peptide (GRP) is present in the lung, and functions as a modulator of tissue growth and repair in fibrotic processes, or as a modulator of cell movement and differentiation in various inflammatory processes, including granulomatous ones. In idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), changes in the bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) content of GRP can be expected. We measured GRP-like immunoreactive substances (GRP-IS) and another neuropeptide, vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP)-IS in BAL by enzyme immunoassay. Our results showed a decrease in BAL GRP-IS in patients with IPF (26.5 +/- 5.5 pg.mg-1 protein) and sarcoidosis (35.9 +/- 9.2 pg.mg-1), compared to healthy nonsmokers (63.4 +/- 9.0 pg.mg-1). When data were expressed as pg.ml-1 BAL fluid recovered, a decrease was only seen in IPF, not in sarcoidosis. The levels of VIP-IS in BAL were not different between the groups studied. Increased protein levels in BAL had no correlation with the levels of GRP-IS or VIP-IS in BAL. Furthermore, BAL neutrophil percentages had no correlation with the levels of GRP-IS in BAL of patients with IPF. Using reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), several kinds of GRP-IS were detected in BAL. These findings suggest that the decreased level of GRP-IS in BAL may reflect a loss of GRP-producing cells due to chronic lung injury and fibrosis in patients with IPF.
神经肽胃泌素释放肽（GRP）存在于肺中，在纤维化过程中作为组织生长和修复的调节剂，或在包括肉芽肿性炎症在内的各种炎症过程中作为细胞运动和分化的调节剂。在特发性肺纤维化（IPF）中，可以预期支气管肺泡灌洗（BAL）液中GRP含量会发生变化。我们通过酶免疫测定法测量了BAL液中GRP样免疫反应物质（GRP-IS）和另一种神经肽血管活性肠肽（VIP-IS）。我们的结果显示，与健康非吸烟者（63.4±9.0 pg.mg-1蛋白）相比，IPF患者（26.5±5.5 pg.mg-1蛋白）和结节病患者（35.9±9.2 pg.mg-1）的BAL液中GRP-IS含量降低。当数据以每毫升回收的BAL液中的pg数表示时，仅在IPF患者中观察到降低，而在结节病患者中未观察到。所研究的各组之间BAL液中VIP-IS的水平没有差异。BAL液中蛋白质水平的升高与BAL液中GRP-IS或VIP-IS的水平无关。此外，IPF患者BAL液中中性粒细胞百分比与GRP-IS水平无关。使用反相高效液相色谱（HPLC），在BAL液中检测到了几种GRP-IS。这些发现表明，BAL液中GRP-IS水平降低可能反映了IPF患者由于慢性肺损伤和纤维化导致的GRP产生细胞的丢失。
