The following is a summary of “Serum and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid levels of soluble B7H3 in patients with interstitial lung diseases,” published in the March 2023 issue of Pulmonology by Nakashima, et al.

It was recently discovered that the B7 family member B7H3/CD276 contributes to idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) pathogenesis. In individuals with fibrosing interstitial lung diseases (ILDs), such as IPF, the relationship between B7H3 and prognosis was unknown. For a study, researchers sought to determine whether soluble B7H3 (sB7H3) may be used as a biomarker to forecast prognosis in patients with fibrosing ILDs. 

The study included patients with ILDs from various categories who had undergone bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL). A retrospective analysis evaluated the relationship between sB7H3 levels in serum or BAL fluid (BALF) and clinical variables during ILD diagnosis. All patients who met the criteria for fibrosing ILDs were followed for five years.

The results showed that the serum levels of sB7H3 were affected by coexisting malignancy but not the BALF levels. Among the 49 ILD patients without malignancy (11 with sarcoidosis, 5 with drug-induced ILD, 22 with IPF, and 11 with ILD associated with systemic sclerosis), there was no significant correlation between serum and BALF levels of sB7H3. The study also found that the BALF levels of sB7H3 at the time of ILD diagnosis had the independent prognostic potential for five-year survival in patients with fibrosing ILDs, including IPF. Notably, patients with higher BALF sB7H3 at diagnosis (≥0.100 ng/mL) had significantly shorter survival than those with lower levels.

In conclusion, the study suggested that BALF sB7H3 could be a useful prognostic biomarker for patients with a broad range of fibrosing ILDs, including IPF.

Source: resmedjournal.com/article/S0954-6111(23)00112-9/fulltext