Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35174247›Full record

ArticleERJ open research2022

Autoantibodies are present in the bronchoalveolar lavage but not circulation in patients with fibrotic interstitial lung disease.

Karim Boustani, Poonam Ghai, Rachele Invernizzi, Richard J Hewitt, Toby M Maher, Quan-Zhen Li, Philip L Molyneaux, James A Harker

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in ERJ open research, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
8citing papers in PubMed
0.3field-weighted citation impact, top 39% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

8 citing papers in PubMed, 10 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Immunological mechanisms and therapeutic approaches in pulmonary fibrosis.European respiratory review : an official journal of the European Respiratory Society · 2026
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.

Karim BoustaniNational Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, London, UK.
Poonam GhaiNational Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, London, UK.
Rachele InvernizziNational Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, London, UK.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6957-9626
Richard J HewittNational Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, London, UK.
Toby M MaherNational Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, London, UK.
Quan-Zhen LiDept of Immunology and Internal Medicine, Microarray and Immune Phenotyping Core Facility, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Centre, Dallas, TX, USA.
Philip L MolyneauxNational Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, London, UK.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1301-8800
James A HarkerNational Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, London, UK.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0301-6898
Asthma UK · GBImperial College London · GBRoyal Brompton Hospital · GBThe University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center · USUniversity of Southern California · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundFibrotic interstitial lung disease (fILD) has previously been associated with the presence of autoantibody. While studies have focused on systemic autoimmunity, the role of local autoantibodies in the airways remains unknown. We therefore extensively characterised the airway and peripheral autoantibody profiles in patients with fILD, and assessed association with disease severity and outcome.

methodsBronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid was collected from a cohort of fILD patients and total BAL antibody concentrations were quantified. An autoantigen microarray was used to measure IgG and IgA autoantibodies against 122 autoantigens in BAL from 40 idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), 20 chronic hypersensitivity pneumonitis (CHP), 20 connective tissue disease-associated ILD (CTD-ILD) patients and 20 controls.

resultsA subset of patients with fILD but not healthy controls had a local autoimmune signature in their BAL that was not present systemically, regardless of disease. The proportion of patients with IPF with a local autoantibody signature was comparable to that of CTD-ILD, which has a known autoimmune pathology, identifying a potentially novel subset of patients. The presence of an airway autoimmune signature was not associated with reduced survival probability or changes in lung function in the cohort as a whole. Patients with IPF had increased BAL total IgA and IgG

conclusionAirway autoantibodies that are not present systemically identify a group of patients with fILD and the mechanisms by which these autoantibodies contribute to disease requires further investigation.

Identifiers

PMID35174247
PMCPMC8841989
OpenAlexW3212910159

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.