TGF-β in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid
| Diagnosis | Location of BAL | Mean (SE) active TGF-β (fmol/ml) | Mean (SE) total TGF-β (fmol/ml) | Mean (SE) active TGF-β (%) | Isoforms of TGF-β (% of control) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TGF-β1 | TGF-β2 | TGF-β3 | |||||||||
| IPF3-150 | Upper lobes | 0.7 (0.2) | 5.4 (1.8) | 17.6 (1.0) | ND | ND | ND | ||||
| IPF3-150 | Lower lobes | 2.9 (1.2) | 4.8 (1.9) | 78.4 (1.6) | 69 (5.6) | 19 (4.8) | 12 (5.6) | ||||
| Control3-151 | Lower lobes | 0.0 | 1.6 (0.9) | 0.0 | ND | ND | ND | ||||
IPF = idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis; ND = not done.
↵3-150 Each patient with IPF underwent BAL of the upper and lower lobes (n=5).
↵3-151 Control patients are described in table 1 (n=5).
p⩽0.04 for active TGF-β and p<0.03 for percentage active TGF-β upper lobe v lower lobe content of TGF-β in BAL fluid of patients with IPF. p<0.02 for active TGF-β and p<0.02 for percentage active TGF-β lower lobe content of TGF-β in BAL fluid IPF patients v controls. Difference in total TGF-β in BAL fluid from upper and lower lobes of patients with IPF is not significant. Difference in total TGF-β in lower lobes of IPF patients v controls is not significant (Mann-Whitney test).