Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42919247›Full record

ArticleRespiratory research2026

Exosomal KL-6 surpasses total plasma KL-6 in the diagnosis of Interstitial Lung Disease (ILD).

Huimin Huang, Ruogu Lai, Junqi Li, Qian Han, Yunpeng Xiao, Xinru Wei, Jin Li, Ziyi Zhang, Yanting Fang, Yunxin Lai and 8 more

Abstract readMulticenter Study
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Respiratory research, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

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3 · Its place in the literature

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

18 authors.

Huimin Huang *Department of Clinical Laboratory, National Center for Respiratory Medicine, National Clinical Research Center for Respiratory Disease, State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, 28 Qiaozhong Road, Liwan District, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510120, China.
Ruogu Lai *Department of Clinical Laboratory, National Center for Respiratory Medicine, National Clinical Research Center for Respiratory Disease, State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, 28 Qiaozhong Road, Liwan District, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510120, China.
Junqi Li *Medical Research Center, Tianjian Laboratory of Advanced Biomedical Sciences, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan, 450052, China.
Qian Han *Department of Clinical Laboratory, National Center for Respiratory Medicine, National Clinical Research Center for Respiratory Disease, State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, 28 Qiaozhong Road, Liwan District, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510120, China.
Yunpeng XiaoGuangzhou National Laboratory, No. 9 Xingdao Huanbei Road, Guangzhou International Bio-Island, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510005, China.
Xinru WeiFeichuang Biomedical Technology (Guangzhou) Co., Ltd, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510670, China.
Jin LiGuangzhou Jinyu Medical Laboratory Group Co., Ltd, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510005, China.
Ziyi ZhangDepartment of Clinical Laboratory, National Center for Respiratory Medicine, National Clinical Research Center for Respiratory Disease, State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, 28 Qiaozhong Road, Liwan District, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510120, China.
Yanting FangDepartment of Clinical Laboratory, National Center for Respiratory Medicine, National Clinical Research Center for Respiratory Disease, State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, 28 Qiaozhong Road, Liwan District, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510120, China.
Yunxin LaiDepartment of Clinical Laboratory, National Center for Respiratory Medicine, National Clinical Research Center for Respiratory Disease, State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, 28 Qiaozhong Road, Liwan District, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510120, China.
Ping ZhangFeichuang Biomedical Technology (Guangzhou) Co., Ltd, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510670, China.
Xiaoxiao LiDepartment of Rheumatology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510010, China.
Jie ZhangDepartment of Radiation Medicine, Faculty of Preventive Medicine, Fourth Military Medical University, No. 169 Changlexi West Road, Xincheng District, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710032, China. zhangjie78@fmmu.edu.cn.
Shuilian YuDepartment of Rheumatology and Immunology, Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, No 107 Yanjiang West Road, Guangzhou, 510120, China. shuilian2008@gmail.com.
Fei YuanDepartment of Rheumatology, Dongguan People's Hospital, No.78 Wandao Street, Wanjiang Road, Dongguan, Guangdong, 523059, China. 13686188663@139.com.
Jia LiDepartment of Clinical Laboratory, National Center for Respiratory Medicine, National Clinical Research Center for Respiratory Disease, State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, 28 Qiaozhong Road, Liwan District, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510120, China. jiali@gzhmu.edu.cn.
Baoqing SunDepartment of Clinical Laboratory, National Center for Respiratory Medicine, National Clinical Research Center for Respiratory Disease, State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, 28 Qiaozhong Road, Liwan District, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510120, China. sunbaoqing@vip.163.com.
Jin SuGuangzhou National Laboratory, No. 9 Xingdao Huanbei Road, Guangzhou International Bio-Island, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510005, China. sujin@gird.cn.

Funding

General Guidance Project of Health Science and Technology in Guangzhou 20231A011082Independent Project of the State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Diseases SKLRD-Z-202305National Natural Science Foundation of China 82370148Research Startup Foundation of the Third Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University BS20220101the Shenzhen Science and Technology Program JCYJ20210324122401003
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundKrebs Von den Lungen-6 (KL-6) is an established biomarker for interstitial lung diseases (ILDs), but the utility of exosomal KL-6 versus plasma KL-6 in connective tissue disease-associated ILD (CTD-ILD) remains unclear.

methodsWe integrated single-cell transcriptomic re-analysis (GSE135893) with a multi-center cohort of 223 subjects, including 167 ILD, 22 CTD without ILD[CTD (Non-ILD)], 34 healthy controls(HCs). Plasma and exosomal KL-6 were measured, and diagnostic performance was evaluated via Receiver operating characteristic(ROC) analysis. Ten progressive ILD patients were monitored longitudinally.

resultsSingle-cell sequencing revealed a significantly stronger correlation between Mucin 1 (MUC1)and exosomal markers (CD63/CD81) in alveolar type II cells from ILD patients compared to HCs, suggesting a potential vesicular association of KL-6. Clinical validation demonstrated that both plasma and exosomal KL-6 levels were significantly elevated in the ILD group. Crucially, for distinguishing CTD-ILD patients with negative plasma KL-6 results [CTD-ILD (plasma KL-6-)] from HCs, exosomal KL-6 [Area under the curve(AUC) = 0.900] outperformed plasma KL-6 (AUC = 0.879). More importantly, in differentiating CTD-ILD (plasma KL-6-) from CTD (Non-ILD), exosomal KL-6 again showed superior diagnostic accuracy (AUC = 0.782, sensitivity = 90.0%, specificity = 77.3%) compared to plasma KL-6 (AUC = 0.705, sensitivity = 65.0%, specificity = 81.8%). Plasma and exosomal KL-6 concentrations were highly correlated (rs = 0.968, p < 0.001). In longitudinal monitoring, both biomarkers increased in patients with radiographic disease progression.

conclusionsExosomal KL-6 is superior to plasma KL-6 for diagnosing CTD-ILD, especially in plasma KL-6-negative patients, and shows potential for monitoring disease progression.

Indexed as

ExosomesLung Diseases, InterstitialMucin-1AgedBiomarkersCohort StudiesFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedBiomarkersMUC1 protein, humanMucin-1Exosome extraction pre-treatmentInterstitial lung diseaseKL-6

Identifiers

PMID42919247

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