Inter-relationship between tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha ) and TNF soluble receptors in pulmonary sarcoidosis

Abstract

These results indicate that TNF-alpha bioactivity may be inhibited by increased soluble TNF-R in the lungs of subjects with sarcoidosis, and this inhibition may be greater in patients with stage I sarcoidosis than in those with stage II/III disease. This may represent a homeostatic mechanism which protects the lung from excessive TNF production characteristic of chronic inflammation.