Plasma Krebs von den Lungen 6 (KL-6) ranges in patients with aPAP were mostly above those in healthy volunteers and in patients with COPD or asthma, whereas ranges of plasma GM-CSF and of the stimulation index based on whole blood cluster of differentiation molecule 11b (CD11b) and phosphorylated signal transducer and activator of transcription 5 (pSTAT5) expression in patients with aPAP were mostly below those in healthy volunteers and in patients with COPD and asthma (Table 2). This evidence concerns the gene CSF2 and asthma.