Published ahead of print on April 13, 2006, doi:10.1164/rccm.200601-079OC Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med., Volume 174, Number 2, July 2006, 142-151 A more recent version of this article appeared on July 15, 2006
Submitted on January 18, 2006 Transcription Factors T-bet and GATA-3 Regulate Development of Airway RemodelingTakumi Kiwamoto1,1 Department of Respiratory Medicine, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Japan, 2 Department of Nephrology, University of Tsukuba, Institute of Clinical Medicine, Tsukuba, Japan, 3 Laboratory Animal Resource Center, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Japan * To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: ishii-y{at}md.tsukuba.ac.jp.
Rationale: Airway remodeling is an important feature of chronic asthma that causes irreversible airflow obstruction. Although asthma is considered to be a Th2 disease, the role of T-bet and GATA-3, the key transcription factors for differentiation toward Th1 and Th2 cells, in the pathogenesis of airway remodeling is poorly understood.
Objectives: We therefore examined the effects of GATA-3 or T-bet induction of Th1/Th2 bias on the development of airway remodeling in mice.
Methods: The development of airway remodeling after repeated allergen challenges was analyzed using transgenic mice overexpressing either GATA-3 or T-bet.
Main Results: The degrees of subepithelial fibrosis and airway smooth muscle hyperplasia after repeated allergen exposure were significantly enhanced in mice overexpressing GATA-3, compared with wild-type mice. Allergen-induced goblet cell hyperplasia and mucus hypersecretion were significantly lower in mice overexpressing T-bet than in wild-type mice. Eosinophilic airway inflammation increased in mice overexpressing GATA-3, but decreased in mice overexpressing T-bet after repeated allergen exposure. Cytokine analysis revealed that the Th1/Th2 cytokine balance shifted to Th2 in lung homogenates and lung T cells of mice overexpressing GATA-3, whereas this balance shifted to Th1 in those of mice overexpressing T-bet after allergen exposure. Lung transforming growth factor- Key words: GATA-3; T-bet; asthma; T-lymphocytes; cytokines
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||