Krebs von den Lungen-6 as a biomarker for disease severity assessment in interstitial lung disease: a comprehensive review.
Aim: Interstitial lung diseases (ILD) are a group of lung disorders characterized by interstitial lung thickening. Krebs von den Lungen-6 (KL-6) is a molecule that is predominantly expressed by damaged alveolar type II cells and it has been proposed as a potential biomarker of different ILD. Materials & methods: A growing literature about KL-6 has been reviewed and selected to evaluate its role in the clinical management of ILD to predict disease diagnosis, activity, prognosis and treatment response. Results: KL-6 concentrations have been evaluated in fibrotic and granulomatous lung diseases and it was demonstrated to be a biomarker of disease severity useful for clinical follow-up of ILD patients. KL-6 levels differentiated between fibrotic ILD, such as idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and chronic hypersensitivity pneumonitis, and nonfibrotic lung disorders, including sarcoidosis and pulmonary alveolar proteinosis. Conclusion: KL-6 is predictive biomarker useful in the clinical management of ILD patients, in particular in patients with severe fibrotic lung disorders.
["d'Alessandro|Miriana|M|0000-0002-2368-5722", 'Bergantini|Laura|L|', 'Cameli|Paolo|P|0000-0001-8639-2882', 'Vietri|Lucia|L|0000-0003-4108-3837', 'Lanzarone|Nicola|N|', 'Alonzi|Valerio|V|', 'Pieroni|Maria|M|', 'M Refini|Rosa|R|', 'Sestini|Piersante|P|', 'Bonella|Francesco|F|', 'Bargagli|Elena|E|']
D015415:Biomarkers D003937:Diagnosis, Differential D006801:Humans D008168:Lung D017563:Lung Diseases, Interstitial D018396:Mucin-1 D011237:Predictive Value of Tests D011379:Prognosis D012307:Risk Factors D012720:Severity of Illness Index
interstitial lung diseases KL-6 idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis hypersensitivity pneumonitis sarcoidosis pulmonary fibrosis associated with connective vascular diseases