Epithelial damage is an important pathophysiologic feature of asthma. Bronchial epithelium damage results in release of growth factors such as transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta(1) that may affect ...epithelial cell proliferation. The objective of our study is to evaluate the importance of TGF-beta(1) in regulating epithelial cell repair in asthma. We evaluated the effect of TGF-beta(1) on epidermal growth factor (EGF)-induced proliferation and downstream signaling in epithelial cells obtained from subjects with asthma compared with cells from healthy subjects. Cell proliferation was evaluated by bromodeoxyuridine incorporation. EGF receptor (EGFR), mitogen-activated protein kinase, TGF-beta receptors, Smads, Smad anchor for receptor activation (SARA), and cyclin-dependant kinase inhibitors were evaluated by Western blot. TGF-beta(1) and receptor expression were measured by RT-PCR and by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Proliferation of epithelial cells at baseline and after EGF stimulation was significantly reduced in cells derived from subjects with asthma compared with cells obtained from healthy control subjects. EGF-induced ERK1/2 phosphorylation was reduced in epithelial cells from subjects with asthma compared with cells from healthy control subjects. This was paralleled with a reduced EGFR phosphorylation. Addition of TGF-beta(1) significantly decreased EGF-induced cell proliferation. TGF-beta(1) production was higher in asthmatic epithelial cells compared with normal cells. This was supported by a high expression of pSmad 3 and SARA in cells derived from individuals with asthma compared with normal subjects. Cycline-dependent kinase inhibitors were highly expressed in asthmatic compared with normal cells. Inhibition of TGF-beta(1) signaling in asthmatic epithelial cells restored EGFR, ERK1/2 phosphorylation, and cell proliferation induced by EGF. Our results suggest that TGF-beta restrains EGFR phosphorylation and downstream signaling in bronchial epithelial cells.
Background Asthma is characterized by inflammation and remodeling. Mast cells are generally increased in bronchial mucosa of subjects with asthma. These cells release a wide variety of cytokines and ...mediators that have the capacity to stimulate other resident cells such as smooth muscle cells and fibroblasts. Objective This study was designed to evaluate whether mast cells modulate collagen production by bronchial fibroblasts isolated from subjects with asthma and normal subjects through cytokine production. Methods Human mast cells were cocultured for 72 hours with primary bronchial fibroblasts isolated from bronchial biopsies of subjects with mild asthma and normal controls. Procollagen I (α1), IL-4Rα, IL-13Rα1, and IL-13Rα2gene expression by bronchial fibroblasts and IL-4 and IL-4δ2 gene expression by mast cells were quantified by real-time RT-PCR. IL-4 production was also measured by ELISA in culture supernatants. Results Procollagen I (α1) gene expression by fibroblasts from subjects with asthma was significantly higher compared with cells from normal controls when cocultured with mast cells. Mast cells expressed IL-4 isoform and IL-4δ2, an alternative splice variant of IL-4. Coculture significantly increased the expression of IL-4 but not IL-4δ2 by mast cells when they were cultured with fibroblasts from subjects with asthma compared with cells from normal controls. Neutralization of IL-4 abrogated collagen mRNA expression. There was no significant change in IL-4Rα or IL-13Rα1. However, IL-13Rα2gene expression was significantly reduced in fibroblasts from subjects with asthma. Conclusion These results suggest that inflammatory process may regulate airway remodelling through crosstalk between inflammatory and structural cells. Targeting this crosstalk may have therapeutic application. Clinical implications Understanding mechanisms that govern airway remodeling and collagen deposition in asthma is a step toward therapeutic management of this disease. In this work, we found that mast cell-fibroblast crosstalk may be a potential future target to control some aspects of airway remodeling.
Antiestrogen resistance is frequently observed in patients after longterm treatment with tamoxifen, a nonsteroidal antiestrogen widely used for endocrine therapy of breast cancer. In vitro studies in ...resistant cells showed that the expression of natural estrogen-responsive genes is frequently altered. Using MVLN cells, an MCF-7-derived cell model, we previously demonstrated that 4-hydroxytamoxifen (OHT) treatment irreversibly inactivated an estrogen-regulated chimeric luciferase response by a direct effect of the drug and not through a cell selection process (E. Badia et al., Cancer Res., 54: 5860-5866, 1994). In the present study, we present tamoxifen-resistant but still estrogen-dependent clones isolated after long-term treatment of MVLN cells with OHT and show that progesterone receptor (PR) expression was irreversibly decreased in some of these clones, whereas the PRA:PRB ratio of residual PR remained unchanged. The irreversible inactivation of both chimeric luciferase gene and PR gene expression was associated with the disappearance of DNase 1-hypersensitive sites. In the case of the chimeric gene, at least one of these sites was close to the estrogen responsive element. Genomic sequencing analysis of a clone with very low PR content did not reveal any methylation on CpG dinucleotides or any mutation in the PR gene promoter region. In all of the resistant clones tested and independently of their PR content, estrogen receptor expression was only lowered by half and remained functional, whereas pS2 expression was not modified. We also observed that the residual luciferase activity level (1-2%) of the MVLN clones, the luciferase expression of which had been irreversibly inactivated, was raised 4-fold by trichostatin A treatment. We conclude that long-term OHT treatment may modify the chromatin structure and thus could contribute to differentially silencing natural target genes.
The efficacy of tamoxifen in breast cancer treatment only lasts a few years and the tumor eventually recurs. We performed selective subtractive hybridization to isolate mRNAs that were differentially ...expressed in MCF-7 derived cells, in which resistance had been induced through long-term culture in the presence of hydroxytamoxifen (OHT). Among the 15 mRNAs found to be overexpressed, we focused on Immediate early gene X-1 (
IEX-1) mRNA because of the recognized contribution of its expression to apoptosis or cell cycle progression, depending on the cell type and culture conditions.
We observed that
IEX-1 expression was stimulated by OHT, that the degree of increase was greater in resistant cells (four-fold versus 1.5-fold) and that this OHT regulation was estrogen receptor dependent. A detailed study of the
IEX-1 promoter indicated that it involved NF-κB. Our cells were not cross-resistant to faslodex, a pure antiestrogen, which moreover was inefficient in regulating
IEX-1 expression.
Altogether, our data suggest that the greater
IEX-1 expression in OHT resistant cells is related to their ability to grow in the presence of OHT. Knowledge on the capacity of OHT to stimulate gene expression and its NF-κB dependence should contribute to a better understanding of tamoxifen pharmacology and allow new drug strategies to be designed that would delay antiestrogen resistance acquisition.
We showed previously that prolonged treatment of a MCF-7-derived cell line with hydroxytamoxifen (OHT) induces the irreversible silencing of some estrogen-responsive genes, whereas OHT-resistant cell ...growth appears simultaneously (E. Badia et al., Cancer Res., 60: 4130-4138, 2000). Based on the hypothesis that particular gene silencings could be involved in triggering the resistance phenomenon, we focused our study on the mechanism of OHT-induced silencing. More precisely, we wished to determine to what extent the recruited histone deacetylase (HDAC) activity, which is known to be involved in the repressive effect induced by antagonist ligands of nuclear receptors, could participate in various aspects of OHT effects, particularly in gene silencing. A fusion protein (HDAC-EG) of human HDAC1 fused with the estrogen receptor DNA-binding domain and the glucocorticoid receptor ligand-binding domain allowed targeting of chimeric HDAC1 activity on estrogen-responsive elements (EREs) in the presence of glucocorticoid ligands. When HDAC-EG was transiently expressed in HeLa cells together with estrogen receptor, an antiestrogen-like effect was obtained on an ERE-controlled luciferase reporter gene in the presence of agonist or antagonist glucocorticoids. In MCF-7-derived cells stably expressing HDAC-EG and an estrogen-regulated luciferase, liganded HDAC-EG again produced an antiestrogenic effect on expression of natural estrogen-regulated genes such as pS2, progesterone receptor, and cathepsin D and cell growth together with chimeric luciferase gene expression. However, a prolonged HDAC-EG-mediated antiestrogen effect did not lead to irreversible luciferase gene silencing, as OHT does. It nevertheless accelerated the OHT-driven phenomenon. The antiestrogen effect of OHT thus differs from that of an ERE-targeted HDAC1 activity that might participate in irreversible silencing but is not sufficient to trigger it.
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