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Luo L, Zhang W, You S, Cui X, Tu H, Yi Q, Wu J, Liu O. The role of epithelial cells in fibrosis: Mechanisms and treatment. Pharmacol Res 2024; 202:107144. [PMID: 38484858 DOI: 10.1016/j.phrs.2024.107144] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2023] [Revised: 02/19/2024] [Accepted: 03/12/2024] [Indexed: 03/19/2024]
Abstract
Fibrosis is a pathological process that affects multiple organs and is considered one of the major causes of morbidity and mortality in multiple diseases, resulting in an enormous disease burden. Current studies have focused on fibroblasts and myofibroblasts, which directly lead to imbalance in generation and degradation of extracellular matrix (ECM). In recent years, an increasing number of studies have focused on the role of epithelial cells in fibrosis. In some cases, epithelial cells are first exposed to external physicochemical stimuli that may directly drive collagen accumulation in the mesenchyme. In other cases, the source of stimulation is mainly immune cells and some cytokines, and epithelial cells are similarly altered in the process. In this review, we will focus on the multiple dynamic alterations involved in epithelial cells after injury and during fibrogenesis, discuss the association among them, and summarize some therapies targeting changed epithelial cells. Especially, epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT) is the key central step, which is closely linked to other biological behaviors. Meanwhile, we think studies on disruption of epithelial barrier, epithelial cell death and altered basal stem cell populations and stemness in fibrosis are not appreciated. We believe that therapies targeted epithelial cells can prevent the progress of fibrosis, but not reverse it. The epithelial cell targeting therapies will provide a wonderful preventive and delaying action.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liuyi Luo
- Xiangya Stomatological Hospital & Xiangya School of Stomatology, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China; Academician Workstation for Oral-maxilofacial and Regenerative Medicine, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China
| | - Wei Zhang
- Department of Oral Medicine, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China
| | - Siyao You
- Xiangya Stomatological Hospital & Xiangya School of Stomatology, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China; Academician Workstation for Oral-maxilofacial and Regenerative Medicine, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China
| | - Xinyan Cui
- Xiangya Stomatological Hospital & Xiangya School of Stomatology, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China; Academician Workstation for Oral-maxilofacial and Regenerative Medicine, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China
| | - Hua Tu
- Xiangya Stomatological Hospital & Xiangya School of Stomatology, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China; Academician Workstation for Oral-maxilofacial and Regenerative Medicine, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China
| | - Qiao Yi
- Xiangya Stomatological Hospital & Xiangya School of Stomatology, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China; Academician Workstation for Oral-maxilofacial and Regenerative Medicine, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China
| | - Jianjun Wu
- Xiangya Stomatological Hospital & Xiangya School of Stomatology, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China; Academician Workstation for Oral-maxilofacial and Regenerative Medicine, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China.
| | - Ousheng Liu
- Xiangya Stomatological Hospital & Xiangya School of Stomatology, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China; Academician Workstation for Oral-maxilofacial and Regenerative Medicine, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China.
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Park SJ, Ryu HW, Kim JH, Hahn HJ, Jang HJ, Ko SK, Oh SR, Lee HJ. Daphnetin Alleviates Bleomycin-Induced Pulmonary Fibrosis through Inhibition of Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition and IL-17A. Cells 2023; 12:2795. [PMID: 38132116 PMCID: PMC10742308 DOI: 10.3390/cells12242795] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2023] [Revised: 11/23/2023] [Accepted: 12/06/2023] [Indexed: 12/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a chronic and refractory interstitial lung disease. Although there is no cure for IPF, the development of drugs with improved efficacy in the treatment of IPF is required. Daphnetin, a natural coumarin derivative, has immunosuppressive, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant activities. However, its antifibrotic effects have not yet been elucidated. In this study, we investigated the antifibrotic effects of daphnetin on pulmonary fibrosis and the associated molecular mechanism. We examined the effects of daphnetin on splenocytes cultured in Th17 conditions, lung epithelial cells, and a mouse model of bleomycin (BLM)-induced pulmonary fibrosis. We identified that daphnetin inhibited IL-17A production in developing Th17 cells. We also found that daphnetin suppressed epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in TGF-β-treated BEAS2B cells through the regulation of AKT phosphorylation. In BLM-treated mice, the oral administration of daphnetin attenuated lung histopathology and improved lung mechanical functions. Our findings clearly demonstrated that daphnetin inhibited IL-17A and EMT both in vitro and in vivo, thereby protecting against BLM-induced pulmonary fibrosis. Taken together, these results suggest that daphnetin has potent therapeutic effects on lung fibrosis by modulating both Th17 differentiation and the TGF-β signaling pathway, and we thus expect daphnetin to be a drug candidate for the treatment of IPF.
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Affiliation(s)
- Soo-Jin Park
- Natural Product Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB), Cheongju-si 28116, Republic of Korea; (S.-J.P.); (H.W.R.); (J.-H.K.); (H.-J.H.); (H.-J.J.)
| | - Hyung Won Ryu
- Natural Product Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB), Cheongju-si 28116, Republic of Korea; (S.-J.P.); (H.W.R.); (J.-H.K.); (H.-J.H.); (H.-J.J.)
| | - Ji-Hyeong Kim
- Natural Product Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB), Cheongju-si 28116, Republic of Korea; (S.-J.P.); (H.W.R.); (J.-H.K.); (H.-J.H.); (H.-J.J.)
- Department of Biomolecular Science, University of Science & Technology (UST), Daejeon 34113, Republic of Korea;
| | - Hwa-Jeong Hahn
- Natural Product Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB), Cheongju-si 28116, Republic of Korea; (S.-J.P.); (H.W.R.); (J.-H.K.); (H.-J.H.); (H.-J.J.)
| | - Hyun-Jae Jang
- Natural Product Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB), Cheongju-si 28116, Republic of Korea; (S.-J.P.); (H.W.R.); (J.-H.K.); (H.-J.H.); (H.-J.J.)
| | - Sung-Kyun Ko
- Department of Biomolecular Science, University of Science & Technology (UST), Daejeon 34113, Republic of Korea;
- Chemical Biology Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB), Cheongju-si 28116, Republic of Korea
| | - Sei-Ryang Oh
- Natural Product Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB), Cheongju-si 28116, Republic of Korea; (S.-J.P.); (H.W.R.); (J.-H.K.); (H.-J.H.); (H.-J.J.)
- Department of Biomolecular Science, University of Science & Technology (UST), Daejeon 34113, Republic of Korea;
| | - Hyun-Jun Lee
- Natural Product Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB), Cheongju-si 28116, Republic of Korea; (S.-J.P.); (H.W.R.); (J.-H.K.); (H.-J.H.); (H.-J.J.)
- Department of Biomolecular Science, University of Science & Technology (UST), Daejeon 34113, Republic of Korea;
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Das DN, Puthusseri B, Gopu V, Krishnan V, Bhagavath AK, Bolla S, Saini Y, Criner GJ, Marchetti N, Tang H, Konduru NV, Fan L, Shetty S. Caveolin-1-derived peptide attenuates cigarette smoke-induced airway and alveolar epithelial injury. Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol 2023; 325:L689-L708. [PMID: 37642665 PMCID: PMC11178264 DOI: 10.1152/ajplung.00178.2022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2022] [Revised: 08/15/2023] [Accepted: 08/18/2023] [Indexed: 08/31/2023] Open
Abstract
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a debilitating lung disease with no effective treatment that can reduce mortality or slow the disease progression. COPD is the third leading cause of global death and is characterized by airflow limitations due to chronic bronchitis and alveolar damage/emphysema. Chronic cigarette smoke (CS) exposure damages airway and alveolar epithelium and remains a major risk factor for the pathogenesis of COPD. We found that the expression of caveolin-1, a tumor suppressor protein; p53; and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1), one of the downstream targets of p53, was markedly increased in airway epithelial cells (AECs) as well as in type II alveolar epithelial (AT2) cells from the lungs of patients with COPD or wild-type mice with CS-induced lung injury (CS-LI). Moreover, p53- and PAI-1-deficient mice resisted CS-LI. Furthermore, treatment of AECs, AT2 cells, or lung tissue slices from patients with COPD or mice with CS-LI with a seven amino acid caveolin-1 scaffolding domain peptide (CSP7) reduced mucus hypersecretion in AECs and improved AT2 cell viability. Notably, induction of PAI-1 expression via increased caveolin-1 and p53 contributed to mucous cell metaplasia and mucus hypersecretion in AECs, and reduced AT2 viability, due to increased senescence and apoptosis, which was abrogated by CSP7. In addition, treatment of wild-type mice having CS-LI with CSP7 by intraperitoneal injection or nebulization via airways attenuated mucus hypersecretion, alveolar injury, and significantly improved lung function. This study validates the potential therapeutic role of CSP7 for treating CS-LI and COPD. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Chronic cigarette smoke (CS) exposure remains a major risk factor for the pathogenesis of COPD, a debilitating disease with no effective treatment. Increased caveolin-1 mediated induction of p53 and downstream plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) expression contributes to CS-induced airway mucus hypersecretion and alveolar wall damage. This is reversed by caveolin-1 scaffolding domain peptide (CSP7) in preclinical models, suggesting the therapeutic potential of CSP7 for treating CS-induced lung injury (CS-LI) and COPD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Durgesh Nandini Das
- Department of Medicine, Texas Lung Injury Institute, University of Texas Health Science Center at Tyler, Tyler, Texas, United States
| | - Bijesh Puthusseri
- Department of Medicine, Texas Lung Injury Institute, University of Texas Health Science Center at Tyler, Tyler, Texas, United States
| | - Venkadesaperumal Gopu
- Department of Medicine, Texas Lung Injury Institute, University of Texas Health Science Center at Tyler, Tyler, Texas, United States
| | - Venugopal Krishnan
- Department of Medicine, Texas Lung Injury Institute, University of Texas Health Science Center at Tyler, Tyler, Texas, United States
| | - Ashoka Kumar Bhagavath
- Department of Medicine, Texas Lung Injury Institute, University of Texas Health Science Center at Tyler, Tyler, Texas, United States
| | - Sudhir Bolla
- Temple University Hospital, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
| | - Yogesh Saini
- School of Veterinary Medicine, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States
| | - Gerald J Criner
- Temple University Hospital, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
| | | | - Hua Tang
- Department of Medicine, Texas Lung Injury Institute, University of Texas Health Science Center at Tyler, Tyler, Texas, United States
| | - Nagarjun V Konduru
- Department of Medicine, Texas Lung Injury Institute, University of Texas Health Science Center at Tyler, Tyler, Texas, United States
| | - Liang Fan
- Department of Medicine, Texas Lung Injury Institute, University of Texas Health Science Center at Tyler, Tyler, Texas, United States
| | - Sreerama Shetty
- Department of Medicine, Texas Lung Injury Institute, University of Texas Health Science Center at Tyler, Tyler, Texas, United States
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