Patients with IPF with anti-HSP70 autoantibodies have more near-term lung function deterioration and mortality. These findings suggest antigen-specific immunoassays could provide useful clinical information in individual patients with IPF and may have implications for understanding IPF progression.

We hypothesized B-cells are involved in the pathogenesis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), a progressive, restrictive lung disease that is refractory to glucocorticoids and other nonspecific therapies, and almost invariably lethal. Accordingly, we sought to identify clinically-associated B-cell-related abnormalities in these patients. Phenotypes of circulating B-cells were characterized by flow cytometry. Intrapulmonary processes were evaluated by immunohistochemistry. Plasma B-lymphocyte stimulating factor (BLyS) was assayed by ELISA. Circulating B-cells of IPF subjects were more antigen-differentiated, with greater plasmablast proportions (3.1±0.8%) than in normal controls (1.3±0.3%) (p<0.03), and the extent of this differentiation correlated with IPF patient lung volumes (r=0.44, p<0.03). CD20+ B-cell aggregates, diffuse parenchymal and perivascular immune complexes, and complement depositions were all prevalent in IPF lungs, but much less prominent or absent in normal lungs. Plasma concentrations of BLyS, an obligate factor for B-cell survival and differentiation, were significantly greater (p<0.0001) in 110 IPF (2.05±0.05 ng/ml) than among 53 normal (1.40±0.04 ng/ml) and 90 chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) subjects (1.59±0.05 ng/ml). BLyS levels were uniquely correlated among IPF patients with pulmonary artery pressures (r=0.58, p<0.0001). The 25% of IPF subjects with the greatest BLyS values also had diminished one-year survival (46±11%), compared to those with lesser BLyS concentrations (81±5%) (HR=4.0, 95%CI=1.8-8.7, p=0.0002). Abnormalities of B-cells and BLyS are common in IPF patients, and highly associated with disease manifestations and patient outcomes. These findings have implications regarding IPF pathogenesis, and illuminate the potential for novel treatment regimens that specifically target B-cells in patients with this lung disease.

Rationale: Studies demonstrating an association between chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and low bone mineral density (BMD) implicate factors distinct from treatments and severity of lung disease in the pathogenesis of osteoporosis. Whereas emphysema has been independently associated with vascular disease and other comorbidities, its association with BMD has not been well studied. Objectives: We explored the associations of BMD with computed tomography (CT) measures of emphysema and other risk factors in current and former smokers. Methods: One hundred ninety subjects completed a CT scan, pulmonary function testing, questionnaires, and dual x-ray absorptiometry measurements of hip and lumbar spine BMD. Subjects were classified as having normal BMD, osteopenia, or osteoporosis. Demographic, physiologic, and radiographic characteristics were compared and the association of BMD with radiographic emphysema, airflow obstruction, and osteoporosis risk factors was assessed. Measurements and Main Results: No difference existed in age, tobacco exposure, oral steroid use, or physical activity across BMD categories. Both osteopenia and osteoporosis were associated with the presence of airflow obstruction, inhaled corticosteroid use, and female sex, and demonstrated a significant relationship with the presence of visual emphysema (P 5 0.0003). Quantitative emphysema, but not CTmeasured indices of airway wall thickness, was inversely associated with BMD. Visual emphysema alone was a significant predictor of osteopenia/osteoporosis (odds ratio 5 2.55; 95% confidence interval, 1.24-5.25) in a model including obstruction severity, age, sex, and inhaled and oral steroid use. Conclusions: Radiographic emphysema is a strong, independent predictor of low BMD in current and former smokers. This relationship suggests a common mechanistic link between emphysema and osteopenia/osteoporosis.

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Male smokers, with or without COPD, have a significant risk of low vBMD and vertebral fractures. COPD was associated with low vBMD after adjusting for race, sex, BMI, smoking, steroid use, exacerbations, and age. Screening for low vBMD by using QCT in men and women who are smokers will increase opportunities to identify and treat osteoporosis in this at-risk population.