Description
Interstitial lung diseases (ILD) are a group of lung disorders characterized by interstitial lung thickening. Krebs von den Lungen-6 (KL-6) is a 200 kDa glycoprotein that is predominantly expressed by damaged alveolar type II cells, and it has been proposed as a potential biomarker of different ILD. KL-6 has profibrotic and anti-apoptotic effects on lung fibroblasts and reflects the degree and severity of alveolar epithelial injury. KL-6 is predictive biomarker useful in the clinical management of ILD patients, particularly in patients with severe fibrotic lung disorders. Serum KL-6 levels were also found elevated in Rheumatoid Arthritis – Associated IDL patients, and the levels positively correlated with HRCT fibrosis score