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LIMR is involved in the inhibitory effect of antiflammin-1 on epithelial-mesenchymal transition in A549 cells

Liu Wei^1,2, TANG Si-Yuan¹, WAN Jing³, ZHAO Fei-Yan², CHENG Qing-Mei², HENG Qing-Mei², HUANG Xiao-Ting^1,2, LI Chen⁴, LUO Zi-Qiang^2,*

¹iangya Nursing School, Central South University, Changsha 410000, China；²School of Basic Medical Science, Central South University, Changsha 410000, China；³Department of Neonatology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha 410000, China；⁴Department of Physiology, School of Basic Medical Science, Changzhi Medical College, Changzhi 046000, China

Abstract

Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) occurring in alveolar epithelial cells plays an important role in the development and progression of pulmonary fibrosis. Previous studies showed that antiflammin-1 (the active fragment of uteroglobin) effectively inhibited bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis. However, its mechanism is still far from being clarified. In this study, we investigated the effects of antiflammin-1 on EMT in A549 cells induced by transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) and the underlying mechanism by using morphological observation and Western blot. The results showed that the expression of α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) increased significantly while the expression of E-cadherin decreased significantly in A549 cells following treatment with TGF-β1, concomitant with morphological change of A549 cells from pebble-like shape epithelial cells to spindle-like mesenchymal shape. This process of EMT in A549 cells induced by TGF-β1 was significantly inhibited when A549 cells were co-incubated with TGF-β1 and antiflammin-1. Furthermore, the anti-lipocalin interacting membrane receptor (LIMR) antibody and PD98059 (an ERK signaling pathway blocker) attenuated the inhibitory effect of antiflammin-1 on TGF-β1-induced EMT, respectively. Our findings indicate that antiflammin-1 can inhibit EMT in A549 cells induced by TGF-β1, which is related to LIMR and its downstream ERK signaling pathway. 

Key words: pulmonary fibrosis; epithelial-mesenchymal transition; antiflammin-1; lipocalin interacting membrane receptor

Received: 2018-04-20　　Accepted: 2018-08-23

Corresponding author: 罗自强　　E-mail: luozq1962@163.com

DOI: 10.13294/j.aps.2018.0057

Citing This Article：

Liu Wei, TANG Si-Yuan, WAN Jing, ZHAO Fei-Yan, CHENG Qing-Mei, HUANG Xiao-Ting, LI Chen, LUO Zi-Qiang. LIMR is involved in the inhibitory effect of antiflammin-1 on epithelial-mesenchymal transition in A549 cells. Acta Physiol Sin 2018; 70 (5): 481-488 (in Chinese with English abstract).