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DOI: 10.1055/s-0039-1678392
Transciptomic Profile TGF-β Inhibitor Treatment in BAL Cells from IPF Patients
Publication History
Publication Date:
15 February 2019 (online)
Introduction Transforming Growth Factor β (TGF-β) is considered as a key player in multiple fibrotic
diseases, including Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF). Previous data suggested that
unstimulated alveolar macrophages from IPF patients show already high levels of TGF-β
signaling and that inhibition of TGF-β signaling can be tested on native BAL cells.
Objective In this study we evaluate the effect of SB-431542, an inhibitor of TGFBR1 and thereby
TGF-β signaling, on the transcriptome of ex vivo BAL cells from 9 IPF patients.
Workflow Culture was treated with 10 µM of SB-431542 for 24 hours. After RNA purification,
microarray transcriptomics analysis was carried out using mRNA array (TempoSeq Technologie).
Statistical analysis was performed using BRB-ArrayTools comparing SB-431542-treated
culture against the respective unstimulated control by paired t-test. Further statistical
analysis and plots (principal component analysis, heatmap, and partial least square
regression discriminant analysis) were obtained using RStudio. The genes modulated
by TGF-β inhibition were also tested for their clinical significance using a previously
published dataset.
Results TGFBR1 Inhibition by SB-431542 lead to a robust change in the gene expression profile
of BAL cells. We observed 507 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) with FDR<0.05.
In detail, 273 of them were up- and 234 genes were down-regulated after treatment
with SB-431542. Pathway analysis by David showed that the DEGs are related to connective
tissue disorders and involved in cellular movement, wound healing, iron homeostasis,
inflammatory, and immune response. SB-431542 seems also to influence the Wnt, MAPK,
Notch, and chemokine-mediated signaling pathways of BAL cells. In addition, we found
that 51 of the downregulated DEGs by SB-431542 were enriched in our recently published
BAL cell signature prognostic of mortality in IPF.
Conclusions This study on the effects of TGFBR1 inhibition confirmed that TGF-β signaling is
an important target for IPF and that BAL cell profiles can be used as a readout to
test pharmacomodulation of this pathway.