REVIEW   

Panminerva Medica 2022 December;64(4):548-54

DOI: 10.23736/S0031-0808.20.04056-2

Copyright © 2020 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

Peripheral and alveolar biomarkers of fibrotic hypersensitivity pneumonitis

Miriana D’ALESSANDRO ¹ ✉, Laura BERGANTINI ¹, Paolo CAMELI ¹, Claudia LANDI ^{1, 2}, Nicola LANZARONE ¹, Anna PERRONE ¹, Valerio ALONZI ¹, Felice PERILLO ¹, Francesco BIANCHI ¹, Rosa METELLA REFINI ¹, Maria PIERONI ¹, Piersante SESTINI ¹, Elena BARGAGLI ¹

¹ Unit of Respiratory Diseases, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences and Neurosciences, University of Siena, Siena, Italy; ² Department of Life Sciences, Functional Proteomics Lab, University of Siena, Siena, Italy

Fibrotic hypersensitivity pneumonitis (fHP) is a frequently misdiagnosed fibrosing interstitial pneumonia, which often remains undiagnosed due to the lack of uniformity of diagnostic criteria. Its features are similar to those of other ILDs, especially idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), and biomarkers with potential clinical value have been proposed. We reviewed the recent literature on serum and BAL biomarkers, focusing on their clinical role in the diagnosis and management of fHP. We searched Medline/Pubmed results from 2005 until April 2020. The manuscripts of interest selected by our search were limited in number and proposed different clinical biomarkers in serum (IgG antibodies, macrophage inflammatory proteins-1, epithelial cell proteins) and BAL (lymphocytes, T-cell mediators). This is the first review to summarize all the serum and BAL biomarkers for fHP proposed in the literature. This review summarized the main biomarkers investigated in fibrotic hypersensitivity pneumonitis because an urgent aim of subsequent research will be to validate and standardize them for diagnostic purposes.

KEY WORDS: Biomarkers; Bronchoalveolar lavage; Lung diseases, interstitial