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Chong L, Zou L, Xiang L, Song X, Miao W, Yan X, Xu M, Ling G, El Agha E, Bellusci S, Lou Z, Zhang H, Zhang JS. WSB1, a Hypoxia-Inducible E3 Ligase, Promotes Myofibroblast Accumulation and Attenuates Alveolar Epithelial Regeneration in Mouse Lung Fibrosis. THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PATHOLOGY 2024; 194:656-672. [PMID: 38325552 DOI: 10.1016/j.ajpath.2024.01.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2023] [Revised: 12/19/2023] [Accepted: 01/10/2024] [Indexed: 02/09/2024]
Abstract
Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis is a progressive interstitial lung disease for which there is no curative therapy available. Repetitive alveolar epithelial injury repair, myofibroblast accumulation, and excessive collagen deposition are key pathologic features of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, eventually leading to cellular hypoxia and respiratory failure. The precise mechanism driving this complex maladaptive process remains inadequately understood. WD repeat and suppressor of cytokine signaling box containing 1 (WSB1) is an E3 ubiquitin ligase, the expression of which is associated strongly with hypoxia, and forms a positive feedback loop with hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF-1α) under anoxic condition. This study explored the expression, cellular distribution, and function of WSB1 in bleomycin (BLM)-induced mouse lung injury and fibrosis. WSB1 expression was highly induced by BLM injury and correlated with the progression of lung fibrosis. Significantly, conditional deletion of Wsb1 in adult mice ameliorated BLM-induced pulmonary fibrosis. Phenotypically, Wsb1-deficient mice showed reduced lipofibroblast to myofibroblast transition, but enhanced alveolar type 2 proliferation and differentiation into alveolar type 1 after BLM injury. Proteomic analysis of mouse lung tissues identified caveolin 2 as a potential downstream target of WSB1, contributing to BLM-induced epithelial injury repair and fibrosis. These findings unravel a vital role for WSB1 induction in lung injury repair, thus highlighting it as a potential therapeutic target for pulmonary fibrosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lei Chong
- Department of Pediatric Respiratory Medicine, National Key Clinical Specialty of Pediatric Respiratory Medicine, Institute of Pediatrics, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Yuying Children's Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
| | - Lihui Zou
- Medical Research Center, The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
| | - Liyan Xiang
- Department of Pediatric Respiratory Medicine, National Key Clinical Specialty of Pediatric Respiratory Medicine, Institute of Pediatrics, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Yuying Children's Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
| | - Xinyue Song
- Department of Pediatric Respiratory Medicine, National Key Clinical Specialty of Pediatric Respiratory Medicine, Institute of Pediatrics, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Yuying Children's Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
| | - Wanqi Miao
- Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, and Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Interventional Pulmonology, Wenzhou, China
| | - Xihua Yan
- Medical Research Center, The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
| | - Ming Xu
- Department of Pediatric Respiratory Medicine, National Key Clinical Specialty of Pediatric Respiratory Medicine, Institute of Pediatrics, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Yuying Children's Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
| | - Gongxia Ling
- Department of Pediatric Respiratory Medicine, National Key Clinical Specialty of Pediatric Respiratory Medicine, Institute of Pediatrics, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Yuying Children's Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
| | - Elie El Agha
- Department of Medicine V, Internal Medicine, Infectious Diseases and Infection Control, Universities of Giessen and Marburg Lung Center, German Center for Lung Research, Justus-Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany
| | - Saverio Bellusci
- Cardio-Pulmonary Institute, Institute for Lung Health, German Center for Lung Research, Justus-Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany
| | - Zhenkun Lou
- Department of Oncology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota
| | - Hailin Zhang
- Department of Pediatric Respiratory Medicine, National Key Clinical Specialty of Pediatric Respiratory Medicine, Institute of Pediatrics, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Yuying Children's Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China.
| | - Jin-San Zhang
- Medical Research Center, The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China; Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, and Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Interventional Pulmonology, Wenzhou, China.
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Single-Cell RNA-Sequencing Reveals Epithelial Cell Signature of Multiple Subtypes in Chemically Induced Acute Lung Injury. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 24:ijms24010277. [PMID: 36613719 PMCID: PMC9820093 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24010277] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2022] [Revised: 12/09/2022] [Accepted: 12/15/2022] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Alveolar epithelial cells (AECs) play a role in chemically induced acute lung injury (CALI). However, the mechanisms that induce alveolar epithelial type 2 cells (AEC2s) to proliferate, exit the cell cycle, and transdifferentiate into alveolar epithelial type 1 cells (AEC1s) are unclear. Here, we investigated the epithelial cell types and states in a phosgene-induced CALI rat model. Single-cell RNA-sequencing of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) samples from phosgene-induced CALI rat models (Gas) and normal controls (NC) was performed. From the NC and Gas BALF samples, 37,245 and 29,853 high-quality cells were extracted, respectively. All cell types and states were identified and divided into 23 clusters; three cell types were identified: macrophages, epithelial cells, and macrophage proliferating cells. From NC and Gas samples, 1315 and 1756 epithelial cells were extracted, respectively, and divided into 11 clusters. The number of AEC1s decreased considerably following phosgene inhalation. A unique SOX9-positive AEC2 cell type that expanded considerably in the CALI state was identified. This progenitor cell type may develop into alveolar cells, indicating its stem cell differentiation potential. We present a single-cell genome-scale transcription map that can help uncover disease-associated cytologic signatures for understanding biological changes and regeneration of lung tissues during CALI.
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Kawami M, Ojima T, Yumoto R, Takano M. Role of integrin α2 in methotrexate-induced epithelial-mesenchymal transition in alveolar epithelial A549 cells. Toxicol Res 2022; 38:449-458. [PMID: 36277370 PMCID: PMC9532481 DOI: 10.1007/s43188-022-00127-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2021] [Revised: 01/31/2022] [Accepted: 02/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Methotrexate (MTX) is widely used to treat various diseases. However, it induces adverse reactions like serious lung injury, including pulmonary fibrosis. Increasing evidence suggests that epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in injured alveolar epithelium contributes to the development of the pathophysiological state of the lung. We demonstrated that MTX induced EMT in cultured alveolar epithelial cell lines. Integrin-mediated signaling is considered a significant factor in recognizing the EMT process. However, the relationship between MTX-induced EMT and integrin family members is poorly understood. In the present study, we aimed to clarify the role of integrin in MTX-induced EMT in A549 and NCI-H1299 (H1299) cells by focusing on the integrin alpha 2 (ITGA2) subunit, selected based on our microarray analysis. MTX treatment for 72 h significantly increased the mRNA and cell surface expression of ITGA2 in both cell lines. However, this upregulation by MTX was suppressed by co-treatment with SB431542 and folic acid, which are inhibitors of MTX-induced EMT in A549 cells. The mRNA expression levels of EMT-related genes were more affected in the MTX-treated A549 cells with high ITGA2 expression than in those with low ITGA2 expression. Finally, E7820, an ITGA2 inhibitor, suppressed MTX-induced EMT-related phenotypic changes, such as morphology and mRNA and protein expression of α-smooth muscle actin, a representative EMT marker. These findings suggest that ITGA2 may play a key role in MTX-induced EMT in alveolar epithelial cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Masashi Kawami
- Department of Pharmaceutics and Therapeutics, Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, 1-2-3 Kasumi, Minami-ku, Hiroshima, 734-8553 Japan
| | - Takamichi Ojima
- Department of Pharmaceutics and Therapeutics, Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, 1-2-3 Kasumi, Minami-ku, Hiroshima, 734-8553 Japan
| | - Ryoko Yumoto
- Department of Pharmaceutics and Therapeutics, Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, 1-2-3 Kasumi, Minami-ku, Hiroshima, 734-8553 Japan
| | - Mikihisa Takano
- Department of Pharmaceutics and Therapeutics, Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, 1-2-3 Kasumi, Minami-ku, Hiroshima, 734-8553 Japan
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Kawami M, Takenaka S, Akai M, Yumoto R, Takano M. Characterization of miR-34a-Induced Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition in Non-Small Lung Cancer Cells Focusing on p53. Biomolecules 2021; 11:biom11121853. [PMID: 34944497 PMCID: PMC8699678 DOI: 10.3390/biom11121853] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2021] [Revised: 11/27/2021] [Accepted: 12/07/2021] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Background: Epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT), a phenotypic conversion of the epithelial to mesenchymal state, contributes to cancer progression. Currently, several microRNAs (miRNAs) are associated with EMT-mediated cancer progression, but the contribution of miR-34a to EMT in cancer cells remains controversial. The present study aimed to clarify the role of miR-34a in the EMT-related phenotypes of human non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cell lines, A549 (p53 wild-type) and H1299 (p53-deficient). Methods: The miR-34a mimic and p53 small interfering RNA (siRNA) were transfected into the cells using Lipofectamine, and the obtained total RNA and cell lysates were used for real-time polymerase chain reaction and Western blotting analysis, respectively. Results: The introduction of the miR-34a mimic led to an increase in the mRNA and protein expression levels of α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), a mesenchymal marker gene, in A549, but not in H1299 cells. Additionally, miR-34a-induced the upregulation of p53 activity and migration was observed in A549, but not in H1299 cells. However, under the p53-knockdown condition, only α-SMA upregulation by miR-34a was abolished. Conclusion: These findings indicate a close relationship between p53 and miR-34a-induced EMT in p53-wild type NSCLC cells, which provides novel insights about the role of miR-34a in EMT-like phenotypic changes in NSCLC.
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