A case of sarcoidosis associated with chronic eosinophilic pneumonia

A case of sarcoidosis associated with chronic eosinophilic pneumonia

Kenji Tani^a, Makoto Kashio^a, Nobuya Sano^b, Yoichi Nakamura^a, Fumitaka Ogushi^a, and Saburo Sone^a

Third Department of Internal Medicine;and^bSecond Department of Pathology, The University of Tokushima School of Medicine, Tokushima, Japan

Abstract:A 38-year-old man was hospitalized in our university hospital because of pulmonary opacities with bilateral hilar and mediastinal lymphadenopathy seen on chest radiograph. Eosinophilia was observed in the circulation and bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid. Histological examination revealed noncaseating epithelioid granulomas and eosinophilic infiltration in the lung. Based on these findings, a diagnosis of sarcoidosis combined with chronic eosinophilic pneumonia was made. The infiltrates on chest radio-graph and BAL eosinophilia were promptly reduced with corticosteroid therapy, but only mild reduction was observed in diffuse nodular shadows and hilar and mediastinal lymphadenopathy, and high amounts of lymphocytes in BAL fluid remained. Increased IFN-γ, IL-4and IL-5were detected in the BAL fluid, and corticosteroid therapy reduced IL-4 and IL-5 (Th-2cytokines) but not IFN-γ (Th-1cytokine). These cytokine levels in BAL fluid were intimately correlated with the clinical course of sarcoidosis and chronic eosinophilic pneumonia. J. Med. Invest. 45:131-136, 1998

Keywords:sarcoidosis, chronic eosinophilic pneumonia, cytokine, bronchoalveolar lavage

INTRODUCTION
CD4+ lymphocytes can be subdivided into two distinct populations, Th1 and Th2, defined by the spectrum of cytokines produced by these cells in mice (1, 2) and humans (3). Th1 cells generate interleukin (IL)-2, interferon (IFN)-γ, and promote cellular immu-nity, whereas Th2 generate IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, and IL-10, and play a role in humoral responses and allergic diseases (4, 5). There is evidence that a balance of different cytokine producers is crucial for an effective immune response and the outcome of infectious, autoimmune, and allergic diseases (6, 7).
In granulomatous diseases including sarcoidosis, there is evidence for a predominant Th1 response. Indeed, lung lymphocytes from sarcoidosis patients produce excessive amounts of IFN-γ and IL-2 (8 -11). However, in eosinophilic pneumonia, eosinophils which are known to grow and be activated in the presence of Th2 cytokines are accumulated and acti-vated in the lungs. Both Th1 and Th2lymphocytes have been suggested to be responsible for the pathogenesis of this disorder (12, 13). Here, we report a patient with sarcoidosis associated with chronic eosinophilic pneumonia (CEP) along with a brief review of relevant literature.

CASE REPORT
A 38-yr-old man had complained of productive cough since August, 1996. A chest radiograph which was taken for a health check on July 4, 1997, revealed diffuse pulmonary opacities with bil hilar lymphadenopathy. He was admitted to Tokushima University Hospital on Dec. 18, 1997 for further examinations. He denied using any prescription medications, and there was no history of allergic diseases including bronchial asthma.
On admission, a physical examination revealed swelling of several lymph nodes in right (rt) cervical and bil axillar regions. Leukocyte count, 5100per μl with 13.0% of eosinophils. Erythrocyte sedimentation rate was within the normal range (2mm/h), and serum C-reactive protein was slightly elevated(0.39mg/dl;normal, <0.3). Slightly increased serum angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) (29.6U/L; normal, 7.7-29.4) and lysozyme (17.6 μg/ml ; normal, 4.2-11.5) were observed. Arterial blood gas analysis revealed mild hypoxemia (PaO2 63.8mmHg) with normal PaCO2 level. Pulmonary function test revealed decreased FEV1.0% (55.1%) and %DLco (57.7%). Chest radiograph and computed tomographic (CT) scan showed hilar and mediastinal lymphadenopathy, bil diffuse nodularity, and infiltrates with rt lobe predominance (Figure1a). 67Ga-citrate scintigraphy showed abnormal accumulations in bil supraclavicular regions, parotis, hilar regions, and rt lung. Oph-thalmological examination revealed mild uveitis.
Bronchoscopy with bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) and transbronchial lung biopsies (TBLB) was per-formed on Dec. 18, 1997. The BAL was performed in the segment of rt B5b with a total volume of150ml of sterile 0.9% saline in three 50-ml portions (Table 1). The number of total cells was, 5.5x107 and the cell differential revealed increased percentages of lymphocytes and eosinophils. The ratio of CD4 to CD8 was 1.0. Histological exam-ination for TBLB specimen revealed noncaseating epithelioid granulomas and eosinophilic infiltration (Figure 2). Findings of special stains for acid fast, fungal, and parasitic microorganisms were negative.
Based on these findings, a diagnosis of sarcoidosis combined with CEP was made. Therapy was initiated with prednisolone, 30mg per day, from January13, 1998, and maintained for a week. Then, 2.5mg of prednisolone dosage was reduced every two weeks. The clinical course is summerized in Figure 3. Cough symptoms rapidly decreased following the treatment, and the opacities in the peripheral infiltrates on chest radiograph were also promptly reduced. The swelling of lymph nodes observed in the rt cervical and bil axillar regions grad-ually decreased. The number of peripheral eosinophils and serum ACE level were reduced. PaO2 and FEV1.0% were improved. The BAL, which was performed on Day 42 after corticosteroid therapy had begun, showed a significantly decreased percentage of eosinophils but the high percentage of lymphocytes remained (Table 1). Follow-up chest radiograph and CT scan showed that the infiltrates with rt lobe predomi-nance were significantly decreased, but only mild reduction was observed in hilar and mediastinal lymphadenopathy and diffuse nodular shadows (Figure1b).
IFN-γ, IL-2, IL-4 and IL-5 in BAL fluid were measured using ELISA as previously described (14) (Table 2). IFN-γ, IL-4, and IL-5were detected in the BAL fluid obtained before the corticosteroid therapy. After the therapy, IL-4 or IL-5 was not detectable (the detection limit was20pg/ml), but IFN-γ was detected at the a similar level as observed before therapy. No IL-2 was detected during the course.

DISCUSSION
Our patient had clinical, roentgenographic and immunological features of sarcoidosis associated with CEP. Chest radiograph and CT scan revealed hilar and mediastinal lymphadenopathy and bil dif-fuse nodularity. Lung lesions were histologically confirmed to be noncaseating epithelioid granulomas. Ophthalmological examinatoin disclosed uveitis. Serum ACE and lysozyme levels were elevated. These findings were consistent with a diagnosis of sarcoidosis. However, in our patient the infiltrates showed rt lobe predominance on chest radiograph and CT. Moreover, both lymphocytes and eosinophils were increased in the BAL fluid, and eosinophilic infiltration was histologically observed in the TBLB specimen of the lung. From these findings, the disease diagnosed was sarcoidosis associated with CEP.
Davis et al. showed that over 5% of BAL eosinophils were observed in 7% of patients with sarcoidosis (15). Allen et al. also reported that 6% of patients with sarcoidosis were found to have BAL eosinophilia, but all had relatively modest percentages (less than 8%) of eosinophils (16), indicating that BAL differentials from patients with sarcoidosis rarely include significant numbers of eosinophils. We know of only one report which showed a case diagnosed as CEP concomitant with sarcoidosis; the case had a prominently increased percentage(94.2%) of BAL eosinophils (17).
Corticosteroid therapy rapidly reduced peripheral pulmonary infiltrates with rt lobe predominance on chest radiograph and the BAL eosinophil percentage. However, diffuse nodularity and hilar and mediastinal lymphadenopathy on chest radio-graph and the BAL lymphocyte percentages did not respond well to the therapy. The early response of pulmonary sarcoidosis to corticosteroid has been known to be poorer when compared with that of CEP (18, 19). Therefore, the clinical course in our patient indicated that corticosteroid therapy predominantly reduced lung lesions caused by CEP, and the lesions which did not respond to the therapy might indicate a diagnosis of sarcoidosis.
In this case, increased IFN-γ, IL-4 and IL-5 were detected in the BAL fluid. Corticosteroid therapy reduced IL-4 and IL-5 to undetectable concen-trations but not IFN-γ. The activation of Th1-type lymphocytes is known to have an important role in the development of sarcoidosis (20). IFN-γ is suggested to be important in the activation of macrophages, resulting in processing inflammatory cell accumulation, granuloma formation, and fibrogenesis (21, 22). Indeed, in the BAL fluid of active sarcoidosis, only Th1 cytokines can be found, but Th2 cytokines such as IL-4 and IL-5 cannot be detected (12, 20, 23). However, CEP is characterized by the accumulation of eosinophils in the alveolar spaces and the interstitium of the lung. In the BAL fluid from patients with CEP, IL-2, IFN-γ (Th1cytokine) and IL-5 (Th2 cytokine) can be detected, indicating that both Th1 and Th2 cells may be responsible for the pathogenesis of this disorder(12, 13). IL-5, a cytokine known to induce eosinophil proliferation, differentiation and activation, is impor-tant in eosinophilia in vivo (24, 25). IL-4 is known to be the master cytokine of the Th2-type immune response (2), and can stimulate eosinophil trans-migration to the airway mucosa by enhancing the expression of vascular cell adhesion molecule1 (25) and the release of eosinophil-survival stimulating activity from bronchial epithelial cells (27). In this case, IL-4 and IL-5 were elevated in the BALF, but neither was detectable after the corticosteroid treat-ment, correlated with the clinical course of CEP, indicating that the Th2-related cytokines might be responsible for eosinophil infiltration into the lungs.
In this case, radiographical lesions of pulmonary sarcoidosis and IFN-γ levels in the BAL fluid did not respond well to corticosteroid therapy, but serum ACE levels were reduced by the therapy. Serum ACE level is higher in clinically active than in inactive disease. Since ACE is known to be produced by epithelioid cells of granulomas (28),serum ACE reflects the total-body granuloma burden and not just the degree of lung involvement (29, 30). From these observations, corticosteroid therapy might partially improve granulomatous lesions due to sarcoidosis except in lungs.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We thank Dr. Ohmoto (Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Tokushima, Japan) for help with the assay of cytokines.

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Received for publication July 6, 1998 ; accepted July 29, 1998.

1 Address correspondence and reprint requests to Kenji Tani, M.D., Ph.D., Third Department of Internal Medicine, The University of Tokushima School of Medicine, Kuramoto-cho, Tokushima770-8503, Japan and Fax:+81-886-33-2134.