Four markers of collagen metabolism as possible indicators of disease in the adult respiratory distress syndrome

During the adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), an irreversible fibrotic process can occur extremely rapidly. To establish indices of ARDS in pneumonia as well as the severity of the lung fibrosis, we have undertaken for the first time a study of four markers of collagen metabolism obtained from both bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and serum: Type I (CI), Type III (CIII), N-terminal peptide of Type III procollagen (PIIINP), and galactosylhydroxylysylglucosyltransferase activity (GGT). We studied 61 patients (13 coma controls, 29 with pneumonia, and 19 with ARDS). In BALF, the average values of CI, CIII, PIIINP, and GGT were significantly higher in ARDS than in the control patients. The values for patients with pneumonia, although increased, were significantly lower than those in ARDS for CI, CIII, and PIIINP. In serum, the mean CI and PIIINP were significantly increased in pneumonia and ARDS, but the mean CIII was significantly increased only in ARDS compared with the control group. Significant positive linear correlations were observed for ARDS between CI and CIII or PIIINP and CIII in BALF and serum. Such correlations were observed for pneumonia only in serum. Molecular mass determinations demonstrated that CI- and CIII-related antigens in BALF were essentially intact triple helices of collagens or procollagens. Among patients with histologically defined interstitial fibrosis, the level of PIIINP in BALF was significantly higher for those with an additional intraalveolar fibrosis. In conclusion, measurements of these collagen markers may be useful for assessing disease activity and reflecting the flux of collagen molecules in the lung.