@article{oai:kanazawa-u.repo.nii.ac.jp:00014622,
 author = {Iwata, Yasunori and Wada, Takashi and Furuichi, Kengo and Kitagawa, Kiyoki and Kokubo, Satoshi and Kobayashi, Motoo and Sakai, Norihiko and Yoshimoto, Keiichi and Shimizu, Miho and Kobayashi, Kenichi and Yokoyama, Hitoshi},
 issue = {11},
 journal = {Internal Medicine},
 month = {Jan},
 note = {Objective. KL-6 is reported to be excreted from the lung alveolar and bronchial epithelial cells and may be a good marker for monitoring disease activity of interstitial pneumonia. This study was designed to ascertain the clinical significance of serum KL-6 levels in interstitial pneumonia associated with anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-related vasculitis. Methods. Serum KL-6 levels were determined by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Patients. We examined 20 healthy subjects, 13 patients with perinuclear (myeloperoxidase, MPO) ANCA-related vasculitis and 12 dermatomyositis (DM)/polymyositis (PM) patients as disease controls in this study. Six out of 13 patients with ANCA-related vasculitis had interstitial pneumonia. Results. Serum levels of KL-6 in ANCA-positive patients with interstitial pneumonia were significantly elevated, while they remained as low as those of healthy subjects in ANCA- positive patients without interstitial pneumonia. Similarly, KL-6 levels in sera were higher in 12 dermatomyositis/polymyositis patients with interstitial pneumonia, while they remained low in DM/PM patients without interstitial pneumonia. Moreover, the elevated serum KL-6 level was reduced during the convalescence induced by glucocorticoid therapy and reflected the disease activity of interstitial pneumonia associated with ANCA-related vasculitis. Conclusion. These data suggest that the measurement of serum KL-6 levels may be a good monitoring system for the diagnosis and follow-up of interstitial pneumonia of patients with ANCA-related vasculitis., 金沢大学医薬保健研究域医学系},
 pages = {1093--1097},
 title = {Serum levels of KL-6 reflect disease activity of interstitial pneumonia associated with ANCA-related vasculitis},
 volume = {40},
 year = {2001}
}