RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Beryllium-induced lung disease exhibits expression profiles similar to sarcoidosis JF European Respiratory Journal JO Eur Respir J FD European Respiratory Society SP 1797 OP 1808 DO 10.1183/13993003.01469-2015 VO 47 IS 6 A1 Li Li A1 Lori J. Silveira A1 Nabeel Hamzeh A1 May Gillespie A1 Peggy M. Mroz A1 Annyce S. Mayer A1 Tasha E. Fingerlin A1 Lisa A. Maier YR 2016 UL http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/47/6/1797.abstract AB A subset of beryllium-exposed workers develop beryllium sensitisation (BeS) which precedes chronic beryllium disease (CBD). We conducted an in-depth analysis of differentially expressed candidate genes in CBD.We performed Affymetrix GeneChip 1.0 ST array analysis on peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from 10 CBD, 10 BeS and 10 beryllium-exposed, nondiseased controls stimulated with BeSO4 or medium. The differentially expressed genes were validated by high-throughput real-time PCR in this group and in an additional group of cases and nonexposed controls. The functional roles of the top candidate genes in CBD were assessed using a pharmacological inhibitor. CBD gene expression data were compared with whole blood and lung tissue in sarcoidosis from the Gene Expression Omnibus.We confirmed almost 450 genes that were significantly differentially expressed between CBD and controls. The top enrichment of genes was for JAK (Janus kinase)–STAT (signal transducer and activator of transcription) signalling. A JAK2 inhibitor significantly decreased tumour necrosis factor-α and interferon-γ production. Furthermore, we found 287 differentially expressed genes overlapped in CBD/sarcoidosis. The top shared pathways included cytokine–cytokine receptor interactions, and Toll-like receptor, chemokine and JAK–STAT signalling pathways.We show that PBMCs demonstrate differentially expressed gene profiles relevant to the immunnopathogenesis of CBD. CBD and sarcoidosis share similar differential expression of pathogenic genes and pathways.Chronic beryllium disease and sarcoidosis share similar differential expression of pathogenic genes and pathways http://ow.ly/YgjIA