The actin regulator zyxin reinforces airway smooth muscle and accumulates in airways of fatal asthmatics
Bronchospasm induced in non-asthmatic human subjects can be easily reversed by a deep inspiration (DI) whereas bronchospasm that occurs spontaneously in asthmatic subjects cannot. This physiological effect of a DI has been attributed to the manner in which a DI causes airway smooth muscle (ASM) cell...
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Published in | PloS one Vol. 12; no. 3; p. e0171728 |
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Main Authors | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
United States
Public Library of Science
09.03.2017
Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | Bronchospasm induced in non-asthmatic human subjects can be easily reversed by a deep inspiration (DI) whereas bronchospasm that occurs spontaneously in asthmatic subjects cannot. This physiological effect of a DI has been attributed to the manner in which a DI causes airway smooth muscle (ASM) cells to stretch, but underlying molecular mechanisms-and their failure in asthma-remain obscure. Using cells and tissues from wild type and zyxin-/- mice we report responses to a transient stretch of physiologic magnitude and duration. At the level of the cytoskeleton, zyxin facilitated repair at sites of stress fiber fragmentation. At the level of the isolated ASM cell, zyxin facilitated recovery of contractile force. Finally, at the level of the small airway embedded with a precision cut lung slice, zyxin slowed airway dilation. Thus, at each level zyxin stabilized ASM structure and contractile properties at current muscle length. Furthermore, when we examined tissue samples from humans who died as the result of an asthma attack, we found increased accumulation of zyxin compared with non-asthmatics and asthmatics who died of other causes. Together, these data suggest a biophysical role for zyxin in fatal asthma. |
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Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 Conceptualization: SRR MAS RK JJF.Data curation: MAS PDP.Formal analysis: SRR MAS CDP.Funding acquisition: PDP JJF MCB.Investigation: SRR MAS EB CCJ CDP JCL CYS JAP.Methodology: RK SRR MAS JJF.Project administration: MAS JJF.Resources: RK JJF MAS MCB PDP ALJ FHG JGE.Supervision: MAS JJF.Validation: MAS JJF.Visualization: MAS SRR JJF.Writing – original draft: MAS JJF SRR.Writing – review & editing: SRR MAS JJF CDP PDP. Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist. |
ISSN: | 1932-6203 1932-6203 |
DOI: | 10.1371/journal.pone.0171728 |