1
|
Cheng D, Lian W, Jia X, Wang T, Sun W, Liu Y, Ni C. LGALS3 regulates endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition via PI3K/AKT signaling pathway in silica-induced pulmonary fibrosis. Toxicology 2024; 509:153962. [PMID: 39353502 DOI: 10.1016/j.tox.2024.153962] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2024] [Revised: 09/27/2024] [Accepted: 09/28/2024] [Indexed: 10/04/2024]
Abstract
Silicosis is a progressive and chronic occupational lung disease characterized by lung inflammation, silicotic nodule formation, and diffuse pulmonary fibrosis. Emerging evidence indicates that endothelial-mesenchymal transition (EndoMT) plays a crucial role in the development of silicosis. Herein, we conducted a SiO2-induced EndoMT model and established a mouse model with pulmonary fibrosis by silica. We identified that SiO2 effectively increased the expression of mesenchymal markers while decreasing the levels of endothelial markers in endothelial cells. It's further demonstrated that SiO2 induced the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway activation via LGALS3 synthesis. Next, interfering LGALS3 blocked the process of EndoMT by inhibiting the activity of PI3K/AKT signaling. In vivo, the administration of a specific PI3K inhibitor LY294002 significantly alleviated silica-induced pulmonary fibrosis. Collectively, these results identified that the LGALS3/PI3K/AKT pathway provided a rationale target for the clinical treatment and intervention of silicosis.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Demin Cheng
- Department of Occupational Medicine and Environmental Toxicology, Nantong Key Laboratory of Environmental Toxicology, School of Public Health, Nantong University, Nantong 226019, China; Department of Occupational Medical and Environmental Health, Key Laboratory of Modern Toxicology of Ministry of Education, Center for Global Health, School of Public Health, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 211166, China
| | - Wenxiu Lian
- Department of Occupational Medical and Environmental Health, Key Laboratory of Modern Toxicology of Ministry of Education, Center for Global Health, School of Public Health, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 211166, China
| | - Xinying Jia
- Department of Occupational Medical and Environmental Health, Key Laboratory of Modern Toxicology of Ministry of Education, Center for Global Health, School of Public Health, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 211166, China
| | - Ting Wang
- Department of Occupational Medical and Environmental Health, Key Laboratory of Modern Toxicology of Ministry of Education, Center for Global Health, School of Public Health, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 211166, China; Department of Pathology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, The Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing 210000, China
| | - Wenqing Sun
- Department of Occupational Medical and Environmental Health, Key Laboratory of Modern Toxicology of Ministry of Education, Center for Global Health, School of Public Health, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 211166, China
| | - Yi Liu
- Department of Occupational Medical and Environmental Health, Key Laboratory of Modern Toxicology of Ministry of Education, Center for Global Health, School of Public Health, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 211166, China.
| | - Chunhui Ni
- Department of Occupational Medical and Environmental Health, Key Laboratory of Modern Toxicology of Ministry of Education, Center for Global Health, School of Public Health, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 211166, China; Department of Public Health, Kangda College of Nanjing Medical University, Lianyungang 320700, China.
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Jin C, Tao X, Zhang W, Xu H, Wu Y, Chen Q, Li S, Ning A, Wang W, Wu Q, Chu M. Multi-omics and multi-stages integration identified a novel variant associated with silicosis risk. Arch Toxicol 2024; 98:2907-2918. [PMID: 38811393 DOI: 10.1007/s00204-024-03795-2] [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: 02/20/2024] [Accepted: 05/23/2024] [Indexed: 05/31/2024]
Abstract
Assessing the association between candidate single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) identified by multi-omics approaches and susceptibility to silicosis. RNA-seq analysis was performed to screen the differentially expressed mRNAs in the fibrotic lung tissues of mice exposed to silica particles. Following this, we integrated the SNPs located in the above human homologenes with the silicosis-related genome-wide association study (GWAS) data to select the candidate SNPs. Then, expression quantitative trait locus (eQTL)-SNPs were identified by the GTEx database. Next, we validated the associations between the functional eQTL-SNPs and silicosis susceptibility by additional case-control study. And the contribution of the identified SNP and its host gene in the fibrosis process was further validated by functional experiments. A total of 12 eQTL-SNPs were identified in the screening stage. The results of the validation stage suggested that the variant T allele of rs419540 located in IL12RB1 significantly increased the risk of developing silicosis [additive model: odds ratio (OR) = 1.78, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.11-2.85, P = 0.017]. Furthermore, the combination of GWAS and the results of validation stage also indicated that the variant T allele of rs419540 in IL12RB1 was associated with increased silicosis risk (additive model: OR = 2.07, 95% CI 1.38-3.12, P < 0.001). Additionally, after knockdown or overexpression of IL12RB1, the levels of pro-inflammatory factors, such as IL-12, IFN-γ, and other pro-inflammatory factors, were correspondingly decreased or increased. The novel eQTL-SNP, rs419540, might increase the risk of silicosis by modulating the expression levels of IL12RB1.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Chunmeng Jin
- School of Public Health, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu, China
| | - Xiaobo Tao
- Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Nantong University, Nantong, Jiangsu, China
| | - Wendi Zhang
- Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Nantong University, Nantong, Jiangsu, China
| | - Huiwen Xu
- Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Nantong University, Nantong, Jiangsu, China
| | - Yutong Wu
- Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Nantong University, Nantong, Jiangsu, China
| | - Qiong Chen
- Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Nantong University, Nantong, Jiangsu, China
| | - Siqi Li
- Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Nantong University, Nantong, Jiangsu, China
| | - Anhui Ning
- Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Nantong University, Nantong, Jiangsu, China
| | - Wei Wang
- Department of Occupational Health, Center for Disease Control and Prevention of Wuxi, Wuxi, Jiangsu, China.
| | - Qiuyun Wu
- School of Public Health, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu, China.
| | - Minjie Chu
- Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Nantong University, Nantong, Jiangsu, China.
| |
Collapse
|