Abstract
Morbi-mortality in cystic fibrosis (CF) is mainly related to chronic lung infection and inflammation, uncontrolled tissue rearrangements and fibrosis, and yet the underlying mechanisms remain largely unknown. We evaluated inflammatory and fibrosis responses to bleomycin in F508del homozygous and wild-type mice, and phenotype of fibroblasts explanted from mouse lungs and skin. The effect of vardenafil, a cGMP-specific phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitor, was tested in vivo and in culture. Responses of proinflammatory and fibrotic markers to bleomycin were enhanced in lungs and skin of CF mice and were prevented by treatment with vardenafil. Purified lung and skin fibroblasts from CF mice proliferated and differentiated into myofibroblasts more prominently and displayed higher sensitivity to growth factors than those recovered from wild-type littermates. Under inflammatory stimulation, mRNA and protein expression of proinflammatory mediators were higher in CF than in wild-type fibroblasts, in which CFTR expression reached similar levels to those observed in other non-epithelial cells, such as macrophages. Increased proinflammatory responses in CF fibroblasts were reduced by half with submicromolar concentrations of vardenafil. Proinflammatory and fibrogenic functions of fibroblasts are upregulated in CF and are reduced by vardenafil. This study provides compelling new support for targeting cGMP signaling pathway in CF pharmacotherapy.
Publication types
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Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
MeSH terms
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Animals
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Bleomycin
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Cell Line
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Cells, Cultured
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Cystic Fibrosis / genetics
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Cystic Fibrosis / metabolism*
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Cystic Fibrosis / pathology
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Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator / genetics
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Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator / metabolism*
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Cytokines / genetics
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Cytokines / metabolism
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Female
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Fibroblasts / drug effects
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Fibroblasts / metabolism*
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Fibroblasts / pathology
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Gene Expression / drug effects
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Imidazoles / pharmacology
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Immunohistochemistry
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Inflammation Mediators / metabolism
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Lipopolysaccharides / pharmacology
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Lung / drug effects
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Lung / metabolism
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Lung / pathology
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Mice
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Mice, 129 Strain
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Mice, Inbred C57BL
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Mice, Inbred CFTR
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Phenotype
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Piperazines / pharmacology
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Pseudomonas aeruginosa / chemistry
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Pulmonary Fibrosis / chemically induced
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Pulmonary Fibrosis / genetics
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Pulmonary Fibrosis / metabolism*
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Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
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Skin / drug effects
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Skin / metabolism
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Skin / pathology
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Sulfones / pharmacology
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Triazines / pharmacology
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Vardenafil Dihydrochloride
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Vasodilator Agents / pharmacology
Substances
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Cytokines
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Imidazoles
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Inflammation Mediators
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Lipopolysaccharides
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Piperazines
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Sulfones
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Triazines
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Vasodilator Agents
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Bleomycin
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Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator
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Vardenafil Dihydrochloride
Grants and funding
FH is a research associate with the Fonds National de la Recherche Scientifique (FNRS). SN is a postdoctoral fellow with the Fonds Spéciaux de Recherche (FSR/UCL) and Marie Curie Actions of the European Commission. TL is a research associate with the IREC/UCL. Supported by grants of the Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique Médicale (FRSM) and the FSR/UCL. Breeding pairs of 129/FVB Cftrtm1EUR (F508del) mice obtained from the MC Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, with the support of European Economic Community European Coordination Action for Research in Cystic Fibrosis EU FP6 LHHM-CT-2005-018932. Vardenafil was a gift from Bayer Pharma (Berlin, Germany). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.