1
|
Bahudhanapati H, Tan J, Dutta JA, Strock SB, Sembrat J, Àlvarez D, Rojas M, Jäger B, Prasse A, Zhang Y, Kass DJ. MicroRNA-144-3p targets relaxin/insulin-like family peptide receptor 1 (RXFP1) expression in lung fibroblasts from patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. J Biol Chem 2019; 294:5008-5022. [PMID: 30709904 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.ra118.004910] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2018] [Revised: 01/18/2019] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
The hormone relaxin is considered a potential therapy for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). We have previously shown that a potential limitation to relaxin-based IPF therapy is decreased expression of a relaxin receptor, relaxin/insulin-like family peptide receptor 1 (RXFP1), in IPF fibroblasts. The mechanism that down-regulates RXFP1 in IPF remains unclear. To determine whether microRNAs (miRs) regulate RXFP1 gene expression, here we employed a bioinformatics approach to identify miRs predicted to target RXFP1 and identified a putative miR-144-3p target site in the RXFP1 mRNA. In situ hybridization of IPF lung biopsies revealed that miR-144-3p is expressed in fibroblastic foci. Furthermore, we found that miR-144-3p is up-regulated in IPF fibroblasts compared with lung fibroblasts from healthy donors. Transforming growth factor β increased miR-144-3p expression in both healthy and IPF lung fibroblasts in a SMAD family 2/3 (SMAD2/3)-dependent manner, and Jun proto-oncogene AP-1 transcription factor subunit (AP-1) was required for constitutive miR-144-3p expression. Overexpression of an miR-144-3p mimic significantly reduced RXFP1 mRNA and protein levels and increased expression of the myofibroblast marker α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) in healthy lung fibroblasts. IPF lung fibroblasts transfected with anti-miR-144-3p had increased RXFP1 expression and reduced α-SMA expression. Of note, a lentiviral luciferase reporter carrying the WT 3' UTR of RXFP1 was significantly repressed in IPF lung fibroblasts, whereas a reporter carrying a mutated miR-144-3p-binding site exhibited less sensitivity toward endogenous miR-144-3p expression, indicating that miR-144-3p down-regulates RXFP1 in IPF lung fibroblasts by targeting its 3' UTR. We conclude that miR-144-3p directly represses RXFP1 mRNA and protein expression.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Harinath Bahudhanapati
- From the Dorothy P. and Richard P. Simmons Center for Interstitial Lung Disease, Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213
| | - Jiangning Tan
- From the Dorothy P. and Richard P. Simmons Center for Interstitial Lung Disease, Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213
| | - Justin A Dutta
- From the Dorothy P. and Richard P. Simmons Center for Interstitial Lung Disease, Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213
| | - Stephen B Strock
- From the Dorothy P. and Richard P. Simmons Center for Interstitial Lung Disease, Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213
| | - John Sembrat
- From the Dorothy P. and Richard P. Simmons Center for Interstitial Lung Disease, Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213
| | - Diana Àlvarez
- From the Dorothy P. and Richard P. Simmons Center for Interstitial Lung Disease, Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213
| | - Mauricio Rojas
- From the Dorothy P. and Richard P. Simmons Center for Interstitial Lung Disease, Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213
| | - Benedikt Jäger
- Fraunhofer ITEM, Deutsches Zentrum für Lungenforschung (DZL) BREATH, Nicolai-Fuchs-Straße 1, 30625 Hannover, Germany
| | - Antje Prasse
- Fraunhofer ITEM, Deutsches Zentrum für Lungenforschung (DZL) BREATH, Nicolai-Fuchs-Straße 1, 30625 Hannover, Germany.,the Department of Pulmonology, Hannover Medical School, Deutsches Zentrum für Lungenforschung (DZL) BREATH, Carl-Neuberg Straße 1, 30625 Hannover, Germany, and
| | - Yingze Zhang
- From the Dorothy P. and Richard P. Simmons Center for Interstitial Lung Disease, Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213
| | - Daniel J Kass
- From the Dorothy P. and Richard P. Simmons Center for Interstitial Lung Disease, Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213,
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Huang X, Gai Y, Yang N, Lu B, Samuel CS, Thannickal VJ, Zhou Y. Relaxin regulates myofibroblast contractility and protects against lung fibrosis. THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PATHOLOGY 2011; 179:2751-65. [PMID: 21983071 DOI: 10.1016/j.ajpath.2011.08.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 72] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2011] [Revised: 07/18/2011] [Accepted: 08/22/2011] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Myofibroblasts are specialized contractile cells that participate in tissue fibrosis and remodeling, including idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). Mechanotransduction, a process by which mechanical stimuli are converted into biochemical signals, regulates myofibroblast differentiation. Relaxin is a peptide hormone that mediates antifibrotic effects through regulation of collagen synthesis and turnover. In this study, we demonstrate enhanced myofibroblast contraction in bleomycin-induced lung fibrosis in mice and in fibroblastic foci of human subjects with IPF, using phosphorylation of the regulatory myosin light chain (MLC(20)) as a biomarker of in vivo cellular contractility. Compared with wild-type mice, relaxin knockout mice express higher lung levels of phospho-MLC(20) and develop more severe bleomycin-induced lung fibrosis. Exogenous relaxin inhibits MLC(20) phosphorylation and bleomycin-induced lung fibrosis in both relaxin knockout and wild-type mice. Ex vivo studies of IPF lung myofibroblasts demonstrate decreases in MLC(20) phosphorylation and reduced contractility in response to relaxin. Characterization of the signaling pathway reveals that relaxin regulates MLC(20) dephosphorylation and lung myofibroblast contraction by inactivating RhoA/Rho-associated protein kinase through a nitric oxide/cGMP/protein kinase G-dependent mechanism. These studies identify a novel antifibrotic role of relaxin involving the inhibition of the contractile phenotype of lung myofibroblasts and suggest that targeting myofibroblast contractility with relaxin-like peptides may be of therapeutic benefit in the treatment of fibrotic lung disease.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Xiangwei Huang
- Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, USA
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
3
|
Yan Wen, Zhao YY, Polan ML, Chen B. Effect of Relaxin on TGF-β1 Expression in Cultured Vaginal Fibroblasts From Women With Stress Urinary Incontinence. Reprod Sci 2008; 15:312-20. [DOI: 10.1177/1933719108315299] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Yan Wen
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California,
| | - Yang-Yu Zhao
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California
| | - Mary Lake Polan
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California
| | - Bertha Chen
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California
| |
Collapse
|