European Respiratory Journal. 2022 Jan
Ruijuan Guan, Liang Yuan, Jingpei Li, Jian Wang, Ziying Li, Zhou Cai, Hua Guo, Yaowei Fang, Ran Lin, Wei Liu, Lan Wang, Qiuyu Zheng, Jingyi Xu, You Zhou, Jing Qian, Mingjing Ding, Jieping Luo, Yuanyuan Li, Kai Yang, Dejun Sun, Hongwei Yao, Jianxing He, Wenju Lu
Products used in the paper Details Operation
plasmid construction & AAV vector packaging In the prevention study, mice were administrated with BMP4-expressing AAV9 viral genome particle (1.0×10^10 viral genomes in 60 μL saline, PackGene Biotech, Guangzhou, China) via intratracheal injections. Mouse Pink1 shRNA (shPink1) and nontarget control shRNA (shNC) constructs were purchased from PackGene Biotech (Guangzhou, Guangdong, China). Request Quote

Research Field: lung

Keywords: Pulmonary fibrosis; BMP4; myofibroblast differentiation; mitophagy; cellular senescence

AAV Serotype: AAV9

Dose: To test the therapeutic effect of BMP4 on established fibrosis, mice were administered with BMP4-expressing AAV9 viral genome particle (1.0×10^10 viral genomes in 60 μL saline) on day 10 or day 21, and lungs were harvested on day 31 or day 35 following BLM challenge. Identical doses of GFP using AAV9 vectors was used as controls in both approaches.

Routes of Administration: intratracheal injections

Targeted organ: lung

Animal or cell line strain: C57BL/6 mice were obtained from Hunan SJA Laboratory Animal Co., Ltd (Changsha, Hunan, China). BMP4 heterozygous slie mutant mice (BMP4+/−) with C57BL/6 background were obtained from Jackson Laboratory (Bar Harbor, Maine, USA) and bred to generate heterozygous for use.

Abstract

Accumulation of myofibroblasts is critical to fibrogenesis in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). Senescence and insufficient mitophagy in fibroblasts contribute to their differentiation into myofibroblasts, thereby promoting the development of lung fibrosis. Bone morphogenetic protein 4 (BMP4), a multifunctional growth factor, is essential for the early stage of lung development, however, the role of BMP4 in modulating lung fibrosis remains unknown. This study was to evaluate the role of BMP4 in lung fibrosis using BMP4-haplodeleted mice, BMP4-overexpressed mice, primary lung fibroblasts, and lung samples from patients with IPF. BMP4 expression was down-regulated in IPF lungs and fibroblasts compared to control individuals, negatively correlated with fibrotic genes, and BMP4 decreased with TGF-β1 stimulation in lung fibroblasts in a time- and dose-dependent manner. In mice challenged with bleomycin, BMP4 haploinsufficiency perpetuated activation of lung myofibroblasts and caused accelerated lung function decline, severe fibrosis and mortality. While BMP4 overexpression using AAV9 vectors showed preventative and therapeutic efficacy against lung fibrosis. In vitro, BMP4 attenuated TGF-β1-induced fibroblast-to-myofibroblast differentiation and extracellular matrix (ECM) production by reducing impaired mitophagy and cellular senescence in lung fibroblasts. Whereas Pink1 silencing by shRNA transfection abolished the ability of BMP4 to reverse the TGF-β1-induced myofibroblast differentiation and ECM production, indicating dependence on Pink1-mediated mitophagy. Moreover, the inhibitory effect of BMP4 on fibroblast activation and differentiation was accompanied with an activation of Smad1/5/9 signaling and suppression of TGF-β1-meidtaed Smad2/3 signaling in vivo and in vitro. In conclusion, strategies for enhancing BMP4 signaling may represent an effective treatment for pulmonary fibrosis.

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