TGF-beta1 Protein Expression in Bullae of Patients with Spontaneous Pneumothorax / 대한흉부외과학회지

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: In our previous study, we demonstrated that transforming growth factor-beta 1 receptor II (TGF-beta1RII) may have a role in the formation of bullae. In this study, we investigated if expression of transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGF-beta1) ligand was altered in a bullous lung tissue by immunohistochemical staining of bullous tissues from patients with primary spontaneous pneumothorax. MATERIAL AND METHOD: Bullous lung tissues were obtained from 36 patients with primary spontaneous pneumothorax, including 34 males and 2 females aged 14 to 38 years old. RESULT: Of the 36 patients, 19 were TGF-beta1 positive and 24 were transforming growth factor-beta 1 receptor II (TGF-beta1RII) positive. Among the 19 TGF-beta1 positives, 15 were also TGF-beta1RII positive, observation at high magnification showed that strong immunohistochemical stain was detected in the boundary region between the bullous and normal lung tissues. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that overexpression of TGF-beta1 may be involved in the formation of a bulla as well as the alteration of TGF-beta1RII expression. Further molecular studies are needed to elucidate the more detailed molecular mechanisms of the bulla formation.