A role for the receptor for advanced glycation end products in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
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.
Englert
Judson M
JM
Department of Pathology,University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.
Hanford
Lana E
LE
Kaminski
Naftali
N
Tobolewski
Jacob M
JM
Tan
Roderick J
RJ
Fattman
Cheryl L
CL
Ramsgaard
Lasse
L
Richards
Thomas J
TJ
Loutaev
Inna
I
Nawroth
Peter P
PP
Kasper
Michael
M
Bierhaus
Angelika
A
Oury
Tim D
TD
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*
D008565:Membrane Proteins; D000067759:Receptor for Advanced Glycation End Products; D011971:Receptors, Immunologic; D001194:Asbestos