Amphiregulin attenuates bleomycin-induced pneumopathy in mice

• Published in: American journal of physiology. Lung cellular and molecular physiology Vol. 298; no. 2; pp. L131 - L138
• Main Authors: Fukumoto, Jutaro, Harada, Chika, Kawaguchi, Tomonobu, Suetsugu, Saiko, Maeyama, Takashige, Inoshima, Ichiro, Hamada, Naoki, Kuwano, Kazuyoshi, Nakanishi, Yoichi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Physiological Society 01.02.2010
• Subjects: Amphiregulin; Animals; Antibiotics, Antineoplastic - adverse effects; Antibiotics, Antineoplastic - therapeutic use; Bleomycin - adverse effects; Bleomycin - therapeutic use; Cell growth; Cells; Collagen - metabolism; Cystic fibrosis; EGF Family of Proteins; Extracellular Signal-Regulated MAP Kinases - metabolism; Female; Glycoproteins - administration & dosage; Glycoproteins - genetics; Glycoproteins - metabolism; Humans; Immunohistochemistry; Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins - administration & dosage; Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins - genetics; Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins - metabolism; Liver diseases; Lung - cytology; Lung - drug effects; Lung - metabolism; Lung - pathology; Lung Diseases - chemically induced; Lung Diseases - pathology; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Molecules; Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen - metabolism; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt - metabolism; Pulmonary Fibrosis - chemically induced; Pulmonary Fibrosis - pathology; Recombinant Proteins - administration & dosage; Recombinant Proteins - genetics; Recombinant Proteins - metabolism; Rodents; Signal Transduction - physiology; Survival analysis; Survival Rate
• DOI: 10.1152/ajplung.90576.2008
• ISSN: 1040-0605

1 Research Institute for Diseases of the Chest, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka; and ; 2 Division of Respiratory Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, Jikei University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan Submitted 26 November 2008 ; accepted in final form 12 November 2009 Amphiregulin, an EGF receptor (EGFR) ligand, is essential for epithelial development in various organs. A recent report suggested that amphiregulin acts as a protective factor in a liver injury model. Little is known about the roles of amphiregulin in lung injury and pulmonary fibrosis. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the role of amphiregulin in an experimental model of bleomycin-induced pneumopathy in mice. C57BL/6 mice were administered a bleomycin hydrochloride solution intratracheally. Recombinant human amphiregulin was injected intraperitoneally at 6, 8, 10, and 12 days after the bleomycin instillation. The grades of inflammation and fibrosis were assessed histologically and biochemically, and the numbers of apoptotic cells were counted after TdT-mediated dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) staining in the lung tissues. We also examined downstream survival signals of EGFR, namely phosphorylated Akt and phosphorylated Erk, in lung tissues by Western blotting analysis and immunohistochemistry. Expression of intrinsic amphiregulin was increased in murine lung tissues after bleomycin instillation. Administration of recombinant amphiregulin improved the survival rate and suppressed the degrees of inflammation and fibrosis and the number of TUNEL-positive cells in lung tissues. Amphiregulin treatment enhanced the activation of Akt and Erk in lung epithelial cells. Amphiregulin may play a protective role in bleomycin-induced pneumopathy in mice, probably through the activation of survival signals. Administration of amphiregulin may be a novel therapeutic strategy against lung injury and fibrosis. epidermal growth factor; lung injury; apoptosis Address for reprint requests and other correspondence: J. Fukumoto, Research Institute for Diseases of the Chest, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu Univ., 3-1-1, Maidashi, Higashiku, Fukuoka 812-8582, Japan (e-mail: fukumoto{at}kokyu.med.kyushu-u.ac.jp ).