Reduced expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha in BAL and blood T cells of non-löfgren's sarcoidosis patients

Background: sarcoidosis is a granulomatous disease affecting in particular the lungs. the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (ppars) play important regulatory roles in inflammation. the aim of this study was to gain more insight about the expression of all three ppars (α,β/δ and γ) in sarcoidosis. methods: bronchoalveolar lavage (bal) cells and peripheral blood cells were obtained from healthy controls (hc) and sarcoidosis patients with löfgren's syndrome (ls) and without löfgren's syndrome (non-ls). ppars mrna expression was analyzed in total bal cells and in facs (fluorescence-activated cell sorting) sorted alveolar macrophages (am) and cd4+ t cells respectively by comparative rt-pcr. ppars protein expression was analyzed in am,and in bal and blood cd4+ and cd8+ t cells by flow cytometry. results: in bal cd4+ t cells,we noticed a significantly lower pparα mrna expression in sarcoidosis patients compared with hc. in non-ls patients,a significantly lower pparα protein expression in bal cd4+ t cells was detected as compared with ls patients. in peripheral blood cd4+ t cells,non-ls patients had a significantly lower expression of pparα and pparγ compared with ls patients. conclusion: the lower protein expression of pparα and pparγ could contribute to the persistent t-cell driven inflammation noted especially in non-resolving sarcoidosis,common in non-ls patients. © 2015 abo al hayja et al.; licensee biomed central.