of the Faculty of Medicine in Niš 2011 ; 28 ( 3 ) : 155 - 159

Sarcoidosis is characterized by granulomatous inflammation developing in the affected organs. The ethiopathogenesis of the disease is still unknown. The lungs are most commonly affected, and uncontrolled, long-lasting inflammation can result in pulmonary fibrosis. Many different mediators, such as cytokines, chemokines, and other proteins with various functions that participate in its complex pathogenesis have been studied as markers of the disease. This article is a review of the available literature on the different markers. Although a considerable number of markers are elevated in the active stage of the disease, the studies conducted so far have shown that the values of serum ACE, IL-2R and chitotriosidase decrease with a good treatment response. KL-6 can be useful as a predictive marker for the development of pulmonary fibrosis in sarcoidosis. In conclusion, prospective studies with a larger number of patients will offer a much better insight considering the importance of these parameters when dealing with sarcoidosis.