A Methodological Approach to Identify Natural Compounds with Antifibrotic Activity and the Potential to Treat Pulmonary Fibrosis Using Single-Cell Sequencing and Primary Human Lung Macrophages

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is the most common and lethal form of the interstitial pneumonias. The cause of the disease is unknown, and new therapies that stop or reverse disease progression are desperately needed. Recent advances in next-generation sequencing have led to an abundance of freely available, clinically relevant, organ-and-disease-specific, single-cell transcriptomic data, including studies from patients with IPF. We mined data from published IPF data sets and identified gene signatures delineating pro-fibrotic or antifibrotic macrophages and then used the Enrichr platform to identify compounds with the potential to drive the macrophages toward the antifibrotic transcriptotype. We then began testing these compounds in a novel in vitro phenotypic drug screening assay utilising human lung macrophages recovered from whole-lung lavage of patients with silicosis. As predicted by the Enrichr tool, glitazones potently modulated macrophage gene expression towards the antifibrotic phenotype. Next, we assayed a subset of the NatureBank pure compound library and identified the cyclobutane lignan, endiandrin A, which was isolated from the roots of the endemic Australian rainforest plant, Endiandra anthropophagorum, with a similar antifibrotic potential to the glitazones. These methods open new avenues of exploration to find treatments for lung fibrosis.

Antibody-Mediated Serum Resistance Protects Pseudomonas aeruginosa During Bloodstream Infections

BACKGROUND

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a frequent pathogen isolated from bacterial bloodstream infection (BSI) and is associated with high mortality. To survive in the blood, P aeruginosa must resist the bactericidal action of complement (ie, serum killing). Antibodies usually promote serum killing through the classical complement pathway; however, "cloaking antibodies" (cAbs) have been described, which paradoxically protect bacteria from serum killing. The relevance of cAbs in P aeruginosa BSI is unknown.

METHODS

Serum and P aeruginosa were collected from a cohort of 100 patients with BSI. Isolates were tested for sensitivity to healthy control serum (HCS). cAb prevalence was determined in sera. Patient sera were mixed with HCS to determine if killing of the matched isolate was inhibited.

RESULTS

Overall, 36 patients had elevated titers of cAbs, and 34 isolates were sensitive to HCS killing. Fifteen patients had cAbs and HCS-sensitive isolates; of these patients, 14 had serum that protected their matched bacteria from HCS killing. Patients with cAbs were less likely to be neutropenic or have comorbidities.

CONCLUSIONS

cAbs are prevalent in patients with P aeruginosa BSI and allow survival of otherwise serum-sensitive bacteria in the bloodstream. Generation of cAbs may be a risk factor for the development of BSI.