title: Tumor necrosis factor-alpha inhibits collagen alpha1(I) gene expression and wound healing in a murine model of cachexia.
abstract: The mechanisms responsible for impaired wound healing in patients with cachexia-associated infection, inflammation, and cancer are unknown. As tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha is elevated in these diseases, and TNF-alpha inhibits collagen alpha1(I) gene expression in cultured fibroblasts, we analyzed whether chronically elevated serum TNF-alpha affects collagen metabolism in vivo by inoculating nude mice with Chinese hamster ovary cells secreting TNF-alpha (TNF-alpha mice) or control Chinese hamster ovary cells (control mice). Before the onset of weight loss, TNF-alpha mice had a selective decrease in collagen synthesis and collagen alpha1(I) mRNA in the skin. In addition, TNF-alpha mice displayed impaired healing of incisional and excisional skin wounds, compared with control animals, before the onset of cachexia. The expression of transforming growth factor-beta1, a potent fibrogenic factor, was inhibited by TNF-alpha in the skin. In studies with transgenic mice expressing the human growth hormone under the direction of 5' regulatory regions of the human collagen alpha1(I) gene, TNF-alpha treatment inhibited the expression of the collagen alpha1(I) human growth hormone transgene containing -2.3 kb of the 5' region, whereas transgene expression directed by -0.44 kb of the 5' region was not affected. These experiments suggest that TNF-alpha may play an important role in the impaired wound healing of chronic diseases that are characterized by a high production of this cytokine and provide insights for potential therapeutic approaches.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, San Diego, California, USA.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Buck
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Houglum
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chojkier
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002100:Cachexia / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D003094:Collagen / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics; D006224:Cricetinae; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D015536:Down-Regulation / Q000502:physiology; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008819:Mice, Nude; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D012867:Skin / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000502:physiology*; D014945:Wound Healing / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; D003094:Collagen