RESUMO
Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis is a chronic progressive disease of increasing prevalence for which there is no effective therapy. Increased oxidative stress associated with an oxidant-antioxidant imbalance is thought to contribute to disease progression. NADPH oxidases (Nox) are a primary source of reactive oxygen species within the lung and cardiovascular system. We demonstrate that the Nox4 isoform is up-regulated in the lungs of patients with IPF and in a rodent model of bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis and vascular remodeling. Nox4 is constitutively active, and therefore increased expression levels are likely to contribute to disease pathology. Using a small molecule Nox4/Nox1 inhibitor, we demonstrate that targeting Nox4 results in attenuation of an established fibrotic response, with reductions in gene transcripts for the extracellular matrix components collagen 1α1, collagen 3α1, and fibronectin and in principle pathway components associated with pulmonary fibrosis and hypoxia-mediated vascular remodeling: transforming growth factor (TGF)-ß1, plasminogen activator inhibitor-1, hypoxia-inducible factor, and Nox4. TGF-ß1 is a principle fibrotic mediator responsible for inducing up-regulation of profibrotic pathways associated with disease pathology. Using normal human lung-derived primary fibroblasts, we demonstrate that inhibition of Nox4 activity using a small molecule antagonist attenuates TGF-ß1-mediated up-regulation in expression of profibrotic genes and inhibits the differentiation of fibroblast to myofibroblasts, that is associated with up-regulation in smooth muscle actin and acquisition of a contractile phenotype. These studies support the view that targeting Nox4 may provide a therapeutic approach for attenuating pulmonary fibrosis.
Assuntos
Inibidores Enzimáticos/farmacologia , Fibrose Pulmonar Idiopática/genética , Fibrose Pulmonar Idiopática/patologia , NADPH Oxidases/antagonistas & inibidores , NADPH Oxidases/genética , Doenças dos Roedores/patologia , Actinas/genética , Actinas/metabolismo , Animais , Diferenciação Celular/efeitos dos fármacos , Diferenciação Celular/genética , Células Cultivadas , Colágeno Tipo I/genética , Colágeno Tipo I/metabolismo , Cadeia alfa 1 do Colágeno Tipo I , Colágeno Tipo III/genética , Colágeno Tipo III/metabolismo , Proteínas da Matriz Extracelular/genética , Proteínas da Matriz Extracelular/metabolismo , Fibroblastos/efeitos dos fármacos , Fibroblastos/metabolismo , Fibroblastos/patologia , Fibronectinas/genética , Fibronectinas/metabolismo , Humanos , Fibrose Pulmonar Idiopática/metabolismo , Pulmão/efeitos dos fármacos , Pulmão/metabolismo , Pulmão/patologia , Masculino , Músculo Liso/efeitos dos fármacos , Músculo Liso/metabolismo , Músculo Liso/patologia , Miofibroblastos/efeitos dos fármacos , Miofibroblastos/metabolismo , Miofibroblastos/patologia , NADPH Oxidase 4 , NADPH Oxidases/metabolismo , Ratos , Ratos Sprague-Dawley , Doenças dos Roedores/genética , Doenças dos Roedores/metabolismo , Bibliotecas de Moléculas Pequenas/farmacologia , Transcrição Gênica/efeitos dos fármacos , Transcrição Gênica/genética , Fator de Crescimento Transformador beta1/genética , Fator de Crescimento Transformador beta1/metabolismo , Regulação para Cima/efeitos dos fármacos , Regulação para Cima/genéticaRESUMO
Microsomal prostaglandin E synthase-1 (mPGES-1) represents an attractive target for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and pain, being upregulated in response to inflammatory stimuli. Biochemical assays for prostaglandin E synthase activity are complicated by the instability of the substrate (PGH(2)) and the challenge of detection of the product (PGE(2)). A coupled fluorescent assay is described for mPGES-1 where PGH(2) is generated in situ using the action of cyclooxygenase 2 (Cox-2) on arachidonic acid. PGE(2) is detected by coupling through 15-prostaglandin dehydrogenase (15-PGDH) and diaphorase. The overall coupled reaction was miniaturized to 1536-well plates and validated for high-throughput screening. For compound progression, a novel high-throughput mass spectrometry assay was developed using the RapidFire platform. The assay employs the same in situ substrate generation step as the fluorescent assay, after which both PGE(2) and a reduced form of the unreacted substrate were detected by mass spectrometry. Pharmacology and assay quality were comparable between both assays, but the mass spectrometry assay was shown to be less susceptible to interference and false positives. Exploiting the throughput of the fluorescent assay and the label-free, direct detection of the RapidFire has proved to be a powerful lead discovery strategy for this challenging target.