ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate the relationship between serum levels of surfactant protein( SP)-A,SP-C and lung function impairment in coal workers with pneumoconiosis(CWP) in order to provide evidence for the biomarker study of pneumoconiosis.Methods Thirty-two coal workers with pneumoconiosis snd 41 healthy controls were included in this study.Serum levels of SP-A and SP-C were measured.Grading assessment of dyspnea and pulmonary function including predicted percentages of FVC,FEV1,FEV/FVC,MVV,and DLCO were conducted.Results Among the 32 participants with CWP,the severity of dyspnea was rated as level Ⅲ for 14 and level Ⅳ for 18 individuals.The pulmonary function was significantly impaired in CWP patients with level Ⅳ dyspnea compared with the healthy controls (FEV1％ predicted:[69.38 ± 15.17 ]％ vs.[96.35 ±10.24 ] ％ ; MVV％ predicted:[ 65.89± 8.14 ] ％ vs.[ 94.13 ± 10.38 ] ％ ; DLCO％ predicted:[ 96.51 ±11.37 ] ％.The serum levels of SP-A and SP-C were significantly higher in CWP patients than that in the healthy controls (SP-A:[4.02 ± 1.22] μg/L vs.[2.41 ±0.68 ] μg/L,t =6.480,P =0.001 ;SP-C:[3.58 ±0.67 ] ng/L vs.[ 2.31 ± 0.29] ng/L,t =9.290,P ＜ 0.001 ).Serum SP-A and SP-C levels in CWP patients were found to be significantly correlated with exposure to dust,dyspnea severity,FEV1％ predicted and DLCO％ predicted.Conclusion Serum SP-A and SP-C levels in CWP patients are closely associated with lung function,suggesting their role as candidate biomarkers for CWP.