Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF), a chronic interstitial fibrotic lung disease, affects 200,000 Americans per year with a median survival of approximately 3 years. There is no effective therapy except lung transplantation. The pathological hallmark of IPF is the formation of fibroblastic foci consisting of a large number of activated and proliferated fibroblasts (myofibroblasts). These cells deposit excessive extracellular matrix, resulting in pulmonary fibrosis. Residential fibroblast proliferation and activation is thought to be one of the major contributors to the pathogenesis of IPF. However, signaling pathways and their regulators leading to fibroblast expansion and activation are not completely understood. Thus, there is a critical need to understand molecular mechanisms of fibroblast proliferation and activation in IPF. The PI's long-term goal is to elucidate the pathogenesis of IPF and thus advance development of effective pharmacological therapy. The objective of the current application is to understand microRNA regulation of the signaling pathways involved in fibroblast proliferation and activation in IPF. Although it is appreciated tha canonical Wnt/?-catenin and transforming growth factor-? (TGF-?) signaling pathways are involved in IPF, little is known regarding the non-canonical Wnt/Nuclear factor of activated T-cells (NFAT) signaling in IPF. MicroRNAs, small non-coding RNAs, are increasingly recognized for their importance in regulating signaling pathways. However, which microRNAs and how they regulate the signaling pathways in IPF are still unclear. Preliminary studies have demonstrated that miR-101 is down-regulated in the lungs of IPF patients, that the activation of Wnt/NFAT signaling stimulates fibroblast proliferation, and that miR-101 inhibits Wnt/NFAT-induced fibroblast proliferation and TGF-?- stimulated fibroblast activation by targeting their cell membrane receptors. The overall hypothesis of this proposal is that the down-regulation of miR-101 contributes to pulmonary fibrosis by promoting residential fibroblast proliferation through Wnt/NFAT signaling, and stimulating fibroblast activation through TGF-? signaling.
Aim I will determine the transcriptional regulation of miR-101 by TGF-? signaling.
Aim II will delineate the mechanisms of miR-101-mediated inhibition of fibroblast proliferation and activation.
Aim III will evaluate the effects of miR-101 on pulmonary fibrosis in vivo. Expected outcomes are establishment of mechanisms for the down-regulation of miR-101 in IPF, identification of miR-101 and its targets as critical factors for fibroblast proliferation and activation, and a foundatin for developing miR-101 therapy for IPF.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
1R01HL116876-01A1
Application #
8579316
Study Section
Lung Injury, Repair, and Remodeling Study Section (LIRR)
Program Officer
Eu, Jerry Pc
Project Start
2013-08-01
Project End
2017-05-31
Budget Start
2013-08-01
Budget End
2014-05-31
Support Year
1
Fiscal Year
2013
Total Cost
$345,595
Indirect Cost
$107,595
Name
Oklahoma State University Stillwater
Department
Physiology
Type
Schools of Veterinary Medicine
DUNS #
049987720
City
Stillwater
State
OK
Country
United States
Zip Code
74078
Senavirathna, Lakmini Kumari; Huang, Chaoqun; Yang, Xiaoyun et al. (2018) Hypoxia induces pulmonary fibroblast proliferation through NFAT signaling. Sci Rep 8:2709
Huang, Chaoqun; Xiao, Xiao; Yang, Ye et al. (2017) MicroRNA-101 attenuates pulmonary fibrosis by inhibiting fibroblast proliferation and activation. J Biol Chem 292:16420-16439
Premaratne, Gayan; Al Mubarak, Zainab H; Senavirathna, Lakmini et al. (2017) Measuring Ultra-low Levels of Nucleotide Biomarkers Using Quartz Crystal Microbalance and SPR Microarray Imaging Methods: A Comparative Analysis. Sens Actuators B Chem 253:368-375
Wang, Lingyan; Fu, Bishi; Li, Wenjun et al. (2017) Comparative influenza protein interactomes identify the role of plakophilin 2 in virus restriction. Nat Commun 8:13876
Wang, Xiaoqiu; Wu, Wenxin; Zhang, Wei et al. (2017) RIG-I overexpression decreases mortality of cigarette smoke exposed mice during influenza A virus infection. Respir Res 18:166
Zeng, Xiangming; Huang, Chaoqun; Senavirathna, Lakmini et al. (2017) miR-27b inhibits fibroblast activation via targeting TGF? signaling pathway. BMC Cell Biol 18:9
Mishra, Amarjit; Guo, Yujie; Zhang, Li et al. (2016) A Critical Role for P2X7 Receptor-Induced VCAM-1 Shedding and Neutrophil Infiltration during Acute Lung Injury. J Immunol 197:2828-37
Xiao, Xiao; Senavirathna, Lakmini K; Gou, Xuxu et al. (2016) EZH2 enhances the differentiation of fibroblasts into myofibroblasts in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Physiol Rep 4:
Zhang, Li; Huang, Chaoqun; Guo, Yujie et al. (2015) MicroRNA-26b Modulates the NF-?B Pathway in Alveolar Macrophages by Regulating PTEN. J Immunol 195:5404-14
Huang, Chaoqun; Yang, Ye; Liu, Lin (2015) Interaction of long noncoding RNAs and microRNAs in the pathogenesis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Physiol Genomics 47:463-9

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