How is KL-6 used in rheumatology and immunology?
1. What is KL-6? KL-6 is recognized as a valid indicator of lung injury and pulmonary fibrosis, and is expressed on the surface of type II alveolar epithelial cells, in normal lung tissue and terminal bronchiolar epithelial cells. It is expressed in very small amounts, and is enhanced in degenerative (proliferating, regenerating, or damaged) type II alveolar epithelial cells, which is directly related to interstitial lung disease (ILD). Therefore, KL-6 is a new serum non-invasive preferred marker for the detection of interstitial pneumonia (ILD). Today, let's learn about the clinical applications of KL-6 as an early marker of ILD in the field of rheumatology. 2. KL-6 can be used as an independent predictor of early progression of systemic sclerosis-associated interstitial lung disease (SSc-ILD). The study studied 82 patients with early SSc-ILD with a mean duration of 2.3 years, and the percentage of forced vital capacity FVC% within the first year varied from -23% to 38%, the bas...