RESEARCH ARTICLE
Pleural Transport Physiology: Insights from Biological Marker Measurements in Transudates
Eleni Apostolidou*, 1, Irini Tsilioni2, Chrissi Hatzoglou1, Paschalis-Adam Molyvdas1, Konstantinos Gourgoulianis I2
Article Information
Identifiers and Pagination:
Year: 2011Volume: 5
First Page: 70
Last Page: 72
Publisher ID: TORMJ-5-70
DOI: 10.2174/1874306401105010070
Article History:
Received Date: 15/4/2011Revision Received Date: 13/6/2011
Acceptance Date: 14/7/2011
Electronic publication date: 18/10/2011
Collection year: 2011
open-access license: This is an open access article licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted, non-commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the work is properly cited.
Abstract
Aims:
The aim of this study was to evaluate the physicochemical properties of the pleural mesothelial barrier and of the biological markers that facilitate or eliminate the passage of molecules through the pleura.
Methods and Material:
Pleural fluid samples from sixty-five patients with heart failure were analyzed. The biological markers studied were lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), adenosine deaminase (ADA), interleukin-6 (IL-6), C-reactive protein (CRP), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), copper/zinc superoxide dismutase (CuZnSOD), matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2), -3 (MMP-3), -7(MMP-7), -8 (MMP-8) and -9 (MMP-9). Based on the pleural fluid/serum ratio, these molecules were divided into three groups: a) the LDH-like group with a pleural fluid/serum ratio between 0,4 and 0,8 (LDH, CEA, CuZnSOD, ADA, CRP, MMP-8), b) molecules with a pleural fluid/serum ratio less than 0,4 (MMP-7 and MMP-9) and c) molecules with a pleural fluid/serum ratio equal or above 1 (TNF-α, IL-6, MMP-2 and MMP-3).
Results:
No correlation between the molecular radius and the pleural fluid to serum ratio of the above biological markers was found.
Conclusions:
The molecular size is not a major determinant for the passage of molecules through the mesothelial barrier. Several other factors may influence the transport of the above molecules to pleural cavity, such as their charge and shape.
