Characteristics of serum lipid metabolism in patients with autoimmune pulmonary alveolar proteinosis.

OBJECTIVE

To study the serum lipid panels in consecutive autoimmune pulmonary alveolar proteinosis(APAP)patients and analyze their relationship with anti-granulocyte macrophage-colony stimulating factor(GM-CSF)antibody and other markers.

METHODS

Thirty-two non-diabetic APAP patients were enrolled in the study. Serum lipids of these patients and 100 healthy volunteers were tested after an overnight fasting. Anti-GM-CSF antibody levels were measured with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The correlation of serum lipids with lactate dehydrogenase,carcinoembryonic antigen,pulmonary function,and artery blood gas parameters were analyzed.

RESULTS

Total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels [(5.54±0.99)and(3.73±0.83)mmol/L respectively] were significantly higher in APAP patients than in healthy volunteers [(5.05±0.97)and(3.17±0.89)mmol/L respectively](all P<0.05). High-density lipoprotein cholesterol(HDL-C)level of the APAP group [(1.10±0.18)mmol/L ]was significantly lower than that of the healthy group(P<0.05). Low-density lipoprotein/HDL and total cholesterol/HDL ratios in the APAP group(3.47±0.90 and 5.14±1.12 respectively)were significantly higher than those in the healthy group[(2.63±0.87)and(4.18±1.12)](all P<0.05). There was no significant difference in triglyceride level between the two groups(P>0.05). HDL-C level was negatively correlated with alveolar-arterial oxygen pressure difference(r=-0.436,P<0.05)and positively correlated with arterial oxygen saturation(r=0.459,P<0.05). None of the lipid markers correlated with serum anti-GM-CSF antibody levels(all P>0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

APAP patients were likely to suffer from disturbed lipid metabolism,which was correlated with disease severity to some degree. Lipid markers deserved more attention in the management of APAP patients.