title: Anti-allergic inflammatory effects of hepatocyte growth factor.
abstract: Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) is known to influence a number of cell types and regulate various biological activities including cytokine production, cell migration, proliferation and survival. Thus, HGF is now recognized to be a key factor in the prevention and attenuation of disease progression. We have reported that HGF reduces allergic airway inflammation, airway hyperresponsiveness, remodeling and development of Th2 cytokines as well as growth factors such as transforming growth factor-beta in vivo. In vitro, HGF directly attenuates chemotaxis of eosinophils in the absence of Th2 cytokines and modulates mitogen-activated protein kinases, which play an important role in eosinophil migration. In this review, we discuss the physiological role of HGF in allergic inflammation and its mechanism of anti-inflammatory effects, including the regulation of eosinophil functions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical and Laboratory Medicine, Akita University School of Medicine, Akita, Japan.
authors.forename: Wataru
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Ito
authors.forename: Masahide
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Takeda
authors.forename: Masako
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tanabe
authors.forename: Junko
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kihara
authors.forename: Hikari
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kato
authors.forename: Takahito
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Chiba
authors.forename: Kazutoshi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yamaguchi
authors.forename: Shigeharu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ueki
authors.forename: Arihiko
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kanehiro
authors.forename: Hiroyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kayaba
authors.forename: Junichi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chihara
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D016207:Cytokines / Q000378:metabolism*; D017228:Hepatocyte Growth Factor / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000276:immunology*; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines; D017228:Hepatocyte Growth Factor