PURPOSE: Surfactant protein D (SP-D) is found in the epithelial cells of multiple mucosal surfaces. It is commonly used to diagnose and screen for pulmonary diseases. In the present study, serum levels of SP-D were measured in patients with uveitis to ascertain whether SP-D is a clinically useful laboratory parameter to diagnose sarcoidosis. METHODS: Sera were obtained from 81 patients with sarcoidosis, 16 patients with Behçet disease, 40 patients with HLA-B27 associated uveitis, 50 patients with Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada (VKH) disease, and 33 healthy volunteers. Serum SP-D levels were quantified with an SP-D enzyme immunoassay kit. RESULTS: In the healthy control subjects, the average serum SP-D level was 39.70 ng/ml; in the uveitis patients with sarcoidosis, the mean serum SP-D level was 57.0 ng/ml, and in the uveitis patients with other etiologies the mean levels were 38.63 ng/ml for Behçet disease, 38.18 ng/ml for HLA-B27 associated uveitis, and 31.32 ng/ml for the VKH patients. The average serum SP-D levels of patients with sarcoidosis were significantly higher than those of patients with any other uveitis etiologies or healthy controls (P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: SP-D may be a less invasive and less expensive laboratory examination for sarcoidosis screening. SP-D should be considered as a new laboratory parameter for the diagnosis of uveitis and sarcoidosis.
PURPOSE:Surfactant protein D (SP-D) is found in the epithelial cells of multiple mucosal surfaces. It is commonly used to diagnose and screen for pulmonary diseases. In the present study, serum levels of SP-D were measured in patients with uveitis to ascertain whether SP-D is a clinically useful laboratory parameter to diagnose sarcoidosis. METHODS: Sera were obtained from 81 patients with sarcoidosis, 16 patients with Behçet disease, 40 patients with HLA-B27 associated uveitis, 50 patients with Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada (VKH) disease, and 33 healthy volunteers. Serum SP-D levels were quantified with an SP-D enzyme immunoassay kit. RESULTS: In the healthy control subjects, the average serum SP-D level was 39.70 ng/ml; in the uveitispatients with sarcoidosis, the mean serum SP-D level was 57.0 ng/ml, and in the uveitispatients with other etiologies the mean levels were 38.63 ng/ml for Behçet disease, 38.18 ng/ml for HLA-B27 associated uveitis, and 31.32 ng/ml for the VKHpatients. The average serum SP-D levels of patients with sarcoidosis were significantly higher than those of patients with any other uveitis etiologies or healthy controls (P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS:SP-D may be a less invasive and less expensive laboratory examination for sarcoidosis screening. SP-D should be considered as a new laboratory parameter for the diagnosis of uveitis and sarcoidosis.
Authors: Masaki Fujita; John M Shannon; Hiroshi Ouchi; Dennis R Voelker; Yoichi Nakanishi; Robert J Mason Journal: Cytokine Date: 2005-07-07 Impact factor: 3.861
Authors: N Kitaichi; S Kotake; Y Sasamoto; K Namba; A Matsuda; K Ogasawara; K Onoé; H Matsuda; J Nishihira Journal: Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci Date: 1999-01 Impact factor: 4.799