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Zhao T, Zhou ZR, Wan HQ, Feng T, Hu XH, Li XQ, Zhao SM, Li HL, Hou JW, Li W, Lu DY, Qian MY, Shen X. Otilonium bromide ameliorates pulmonary fibrosis in mice through activating phosphatase PPM1A. Acta Pharmacol Sin 2024:10.1038/s41401-024-01368-8. [PMID: 39160244 DOI: 10.1038/s41401-024-01368-8] [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: 03/19/2024] [Accepted: 07/24/2024] [Indexed: 08/21/2024] Open
Abstract
Pulmonary fibrosis (PF) is a chronic, progressive and irreversible interstitial lung disease characterized by unremitting pulmonary myofibroblasts activation, extracellular matrix (ECM) deposition and inflammatory recruitment. PF has no curable medication yet. In this study we investigated the molecular pathogenesis and potential therapeutic targets of PF and discovered drug lead compounds for PF therapy. A murine PF model was established in mice by intratracheal instillation of bleomycin (BLM, 5 mg/kg). We showed that the protein level of pulmonary protein phosphatase magnesium-dependent 1A (PPM1A, also known as PP2Cα) was significantly downregulated in PF patients and BLM-induced PF mice. We demonstrated that TRIM47 promoted ubiquitination and decreased PPM1A protein in PF progression. By screening the lab in-house compound library, we discovered otilonium bromide (OB, clinically used for treating irritable bowel syndrome) as a PPM1A enzymatic activator with an EC50 value of 4.23 μM. Treatment with OB (2.5, 5 mg·kg-1·d-1, i.p., for 20 days) significantly ameliorated PF-like pathology in mice. We constructed PF mice with PPM1A-specific knockdown in the lung tissues, and determined that by targeting PPM1A, OB treatment suppressed ECM deposition through TGF-β/SMAD3 pathway in fibroblasts, repressed inflammatory responses through NF-κB/NLRP3 pathway in alveolar epithelial cells, and blunted the crosstalk between inflammation in alveolar epithelial cells and ECM deposition in fibroblasts. Together, our results demonstrate that pulmonary PPM1A activation is a promising therapeutic strategy for PF and highlighted the potential of OB in the treatment of the disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tong Zhao
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Drug Target and Drug for Degenerative Diseases, School of Medicine, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, 210023, China
| | - Zhi-Ruo Zhou
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Drug Target and Drug for Degenerative Diseases, School of Medicine, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, 210023, China
- School of Pharmacy, Fudan University, Shanghai, 201203, China
| | - Hui-Qi Wan
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Drug Target and Drug for Degenerative Diseases, School of Medicine, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, 210023, China
| | - Tian Feng
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Drug Target and Drug for Degenerative Diseases, School of Medicine, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, 210023, China
| | - Xu-Hui Hu
- School of Pharmacy, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, 210023, China
| | - Xiao-Qian Li
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Drug Target and Drug for Degenerative Diseases, School of Medicine, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, 210023, China
| | - Shi-Mei Zhao
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Drug Target and Drug for Degenerative Diseases, School of Medicine, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, 210023, China
| | - Hong-Lin Li
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Drug Target and Drug for Degenerative Diseases, School of Medicine, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, 210023, China
| | - Ji-Wei Hou
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Drug Target and Drug for Degenerative Diseases, School of Medicine, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, 210023, China
- Immunology and Reproduction Biology Laboratory & State Key Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry for Life Science, Medical School, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210093, China
| | - Wei Li
- School of Pharmacy, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, 210023, China
| | - Da-Yun Lu
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Drug Target and Drug for Degenerative Diseases, School of Medicine, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, 210023, China.
| | - Min-Yi Qian
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Drug Target and Drug for Degenerative Diseases, School of Medicine, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, 210023, China.
| | - Xu Shen
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Drug Target and Drug for Degenerative Diseases, School of Medicine, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, 210023, China.
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