Folic acid prevents methotrexate-induced epithelial-mesenchymal transition via suppression of secreted factors from the human alveolar epithelial cell line A549.

ABSTRACT

Methotrexate (MTX) often induces serious lung diseases such as pulmonary fibrosis. Although MTX is known to be a folic acid (FA) antagonist, the effect of FA on MTX-induced lung injury remains unclear. Recent studies indicate that epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is involved in pulmonary fibrosis. Here, we aimed to clarify the effect of FA on MTX-induced EMT in human alveolar epithelial cell line A549 using conditioned medium (CM). CM was prepared from the supernatants of A549 cells treated with MTX in the absence (CMM) or presence (CMMF) of FA. FA suppressed EMT-like morphological changes and elevated mRNA/protein expression levels of α-smooth muscle actin induced by MTX in A549 cells. In addition, CMM induced EMT-like phenotypical changes, whereas CMMF had no effect on the phenotype of A549 cells, indicating that FA may suppress MTX-induced EMT via inhibiting the secretion of certain factors into the supernatant of the cells. Furthermore, FA also prevented CMM-induced EMT-like phenotypical changes in A549 cells. These findings indicate that FA may be a useful pharmaceutical for MTX-induced lung injury.