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. 2018 Nov 5;13(11):e0206105.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0206105. eCollection 2018.

Transforming Growth Factor-β1 in predicting early lung fibroproliferation in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome

Jean-Marie Forel  1   2 , Christophe Guervilly  1   2 , Catherine Farnarier  3 , Stéphane-Yannis Donati  4 , Sami Hraiech  1   2 , Nicolas Persico  2   5 , Jérôme Allardet-Servent  6 , Benjamin Coiffard  1   2 , Marc Gainnier  7 , Anderson Loundou  2 , Aude Sylvestre  1   2 , Antoine Roch  1   2 , Jeremy Bourenne  7 , Laurent Papazian  1   2
Affiliations

Transforming Growth Factor-β1 in predicting early lung fibroproliferation in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome

Jean-Marie Forel et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Background: Fibroproliferative repair phase of the acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is followed by a restitutio ad integrum of lung parenchyma or by an irreversible lung fibrosis and patients' death. Transforming Growth Factor-β1 (TGF-β1) is involved in collagen production and lung repair. We investigated whether alveolar TGF-β1 was associated with the presence of fibroproliferation and the outcome of ARDS patients.

Methods: Sixty-two patients were included the first day of moderate-to-severe ARDS. Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) was collected at day 3 (and day 7 when the patients were still receiving invasive mechanical ventilation) from the onset of ARDS. Survival was evaluated at day 60. TGF-β1 was measured by immunoassay. The patients were classified as having lung fibroproliferation when the alveolar N-terminal peptide for type III procollagen (NT-PCP-III) measured on day 3 was > 9 μg/L as recently reported. The main objective of this study was to compare the alveolar levels of total TGF-β1 according to the presence or not a lung fibroproliferation at day 3.

Results: Forty-three patients (30.6%) presented a fibroproliferation at day 3. BALF levels of total TGF-β1 were not statistically different at day 3 (and at day 7) according to the presence or not lung fibroproliferation. Mortality at day 60 was higher in the group of patients with fibroproliferation as compared with patients with no fibroproliferation (68.4% vs. 18.6% respectively; p < 0.001). Total TGF-β1 measured on BALF at day 3 was not associated with the outcome. Multiple logistic regression showed that the presence of lung fibroproliferation was associated with death. In contrast, TGF-β1 was not independently associated with death.

Conclusions: Pulmonary levels of TGF-β1 during the first week of ARDS were not associated nor with the presence of fibroproliferation neither with death. TGF-β1 should not be used as a biomarker to direct anti-fibrotic therapies.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Flow chart of the study.
Day 1 is the day of inclusion; ARDS: acute respiratory distress syndrome; PaO2/FIO2, partial pressure of arterial oxygen/fraction of inspired oxygen ratio; BALF: bronchoalveolar lavage.
Fig 2
Fig 2
Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid levels of total TGF-β1 on day 3 (left panel) and day 7 (right panel) in ARDS patients according to lung fibroproliferation evaluated on day 3.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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