BACKGROUND: Current pharmacotherapy is highly effective in the clinical management of the majority of patients with stable asthma, however severe asthma remains inadequately treated. Prevention of airway remodelling is a major unmet clinical need in the management of patients with chronic severe asthma and other inflammatory lung diseases. Accumulating evidence convincingly demonstrates that activin A, a member of the transforming growth factor (TGF)-β superfamily, is a key driver of airway inflammation, but its role in chronic asthmatic airway remodelling is ill-defined. Follistatin, an endogenously produced protein, binds activin A with high affinity and inhibits its bioactivity. The aim of this study was to test the potential of follistatin as a therapeutic agent to inhibit airway remodelling in an experimental model of chronic allergic airway inflammation. METHODS: BALB/c mice were systemically sensitised with ovalbumin (OVA), and challenged with OVA intranasally three times a week for 10 weeks. Follistatin was instilled intranasally during allergen challenge. RESULTS: Chronic allergen challenge induced mucus hypersecretion and subepithelial collagen deposition which persisted after cessation of challenge. Intranasal follistatin (0.05, 0.5, 5 µg) inhibited the airway remodelling and dose-dependently decreased airway activin A and TGF-β1, and allergen-specific T helper 2 cytokine production in the lung-draining lymph nodes. Follistatin also impaired the loss of TGF-β1 and activin RIB immunostaining in airway epithelium which occurred following chronic allergen challenge. CONCLUSIONS: These data demonstrate that follistatin attenuates asthmatic airway remodelling. Our findings point to the potential of follistatin as a therapeutic for prevention of airway remodelling in asthma and other inflammatory lung diseases.
BACKGROUND: Current pharmacotherapy is highly effective in the clinical management of the majority of patients with stable asthma, however severe asthma remains inadequately treated. Prevention of airway remodelling is a major unmet clinical need in the management of patients with chronic severe asthma and other inflammatory lung diseases. Accumulating evidence convincingly demonstrates that activin A, a member of the transforming growth factor (TGF)-β superfamily, is a key driver of airway inflammation, but its role in chronic asthmatic airway remodelling is ill-defined. Follistatin, an endogenously produced protein, binds activin A with high affinity and inhibits its bioactivity. The aim of this study was to test the potential of follistatin as a therapeutic agent to inhibit airway remodelling in an experimental model of chronic allergic airway inflammation. METHODS: BALB/c mice were systemically sensitised with ovalbumin (OVA), and challenged with OVA intranasally three times a week for 10 weeks. Follistatin was instilled intranasally during allergen challenge. RESULTS: Chronic allergen challenge induced mucus hypersecretion and subepithelial collagen deposition which persisted after cessation of challenge. Intranasal follistatin (0.05, 0.5, 5 µg) inhibited the airway remodelling and dose-dependently decreased airway activin A and TGF-β1, and allergen-specific T helper 2 cytokine production in the lung-draining lymph nodes. Follistatin also impaired the loss of TGF-β1 and activin RIB immunostaining in airway epithelium which occurred following chronic allergen challenge. CONCLUSIONS: These data demonstrate that follistatin attenuates asthmatic airway remodelling. Our findings point to the potential of follistatin as a therapeutic for prevention of airway remodelling in asthma and other inflammatory lung diseases.
Authors: Sung Shine Shim; Mark L Schiebler; Michael D Evans; Nizar Jarjour; Ron L Sorkness; Loren C Denlinger; Alfonso Rodriguez; Sally Wenzel; Eric A Hoffman; Ching-Long Lin; David S Gierada; Mario Castro; Sean B Fain Journal: J Allergy Clin Immunol Date: 2018-02-10 Impact factor: 10.793
Authors: Richard G James; Stephen R Reeves; Kaitlyn A Barrow; Maria P White; Veronika A Glukhova; Candace Haghighi; Dana Seyoum; Jason S Debley Journal: Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol Date: 2018-07 Impact factor: 7.748
Authors: Charles L Hardy; Susannah J King; Nicole A Mifsud; Mark P Hedger; David J Phillips; Fabienne Mackay; David M de Kretser; John W Wilson; Jennifer M Rolland; Robyn E O'Hehir Journal: Immunol Cell Biol Date: 2015-03-10 Impact factor: 5.126
Authors: Lili Li; Katherine Howell; Michelle Sands; Mark Banahan; Stephen Frohlich; Simon C Rowan; Roisín Neary; Donal Ryan; Paul McLoughlin Journal: PLoS One Date: 2013-12-09 Impact factor: 3.240