title: A role for the receptor for advanced glycation end products in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
abstract: Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a severely debilitating disease associated with a dismal prognosis. There are currently no effective therapies for IPF, thus the identification of novel therapeutic targets is greatly needed. The receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE) is a member of the immunoglobulin superfamily of cell surface receptors whose activation has been linked to various pathologies. In healthy adult animals, RAGE is expressed at the highest levels in the lung compared to other tissues. To investigate the hypothesis that RAGE is involved in IPF pathogenesis, we have examined its expression in two mouse models of pulmonary fibrosis and in human tissue from IPF patients. In each instance we observed a depletion of membrane RAGE and its soluble (decoy) isoform, sRAGE, in fibrotic lungs. In contrast to other diseases in which RAGE signaling promotes pathology, immunohistochemical and hydroxyproline quantification studies on aged RAGE-null mice indicate that these mice spontaneously develop pulmonary fibrosis-like alterations. Furthermore, when subjected to a model of pulmonary fibrosis, RAGE-null mice developed more severe fibrosis, as measured by hydroxyproline assay and histological scoring, than wild-type controls. Combined with data from other studies on mouse models of pulmonary fibrosis and human IPF tissues indicate that loss of RAGE contributes to IPF pathogenesis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology,University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.
authors.forename: Judson M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Englert
authors.forename: Lana E
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Hanford
authors.forename: Naftali
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kaminski
authors.forename: Jacob M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Tobolewski
authors.forename: Roderick J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.forename: Cheryl L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Fattman
authors.forename: Lasse
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ramsgaard
authors.forename: Thomas J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Richards
authors.forename: Inna
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Loutaev
authors.forename: Peter P
authors.initials: PP
authors.lastname: Nawroth
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kasper
authors.forename: Angelika
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bierhaus
authors.forename: Tim D
authors.initials: TD
authors.lastname: Oury
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000818:Animals; D001194:Asbestos / Q000633:toxicity; D001195:Asbestosis / Q000235:genetics; D002417:Cattle; D015536:Down-Regulation; D006801:Humans; D008168:Lung / Q000378:metabolism; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D011658:Pulmonary Fibrosis / Q000235:genetics*; D000067759:Receptor for Advanced Glycation End Products; D011971:Receptors, Immunologic / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D008565:Membrane Proteins; D000067759:Receptor for Advanced Glycation End Products; D011971:Receptors, Immunologic; D001194:Asbestos