title: Increased expression of transforming growth factor-β and receptors in primary human airway fibroblasts from chemical inhalation patients.
abstract: The widespread use of sulfur mustard (SM) as a chemical warfare agent in the past century has proved its long-lasting toxic effects. Despite a lot of research over the past decades on Iranian veterans, there are still major gaps in the SM literature. Transforming growth factor (TGF-β), a cytokine that affects many different cell processes, has an important role in the lungs of patients with some of chronic airway diseases, especially with respect to airway remodeling in mustard lung. Primary airway fibroblasts from epibronchial biopsies were cultured, and gene expression of TGF-β1, TGF-β2, TbR-I and TbR-II in fibroblasts of SM injured patients and controls were investigated. Expression of TGF-βs and receptors was measured by RT-PCR. Protein level of TGF-β1 was surveyed by western blot. Our findings revealed that expression levels of TGF-β1, TGF-β2, TbR-I and TbR-II were upregulated in the airway fibroblasts of SM exposed patients in comparison with control samples. TGF-β1 expression was shown to be markedly increased in primary lung fibroblasts of chemically injured patients. Our novel data, suggested that over-expression of TGF-β molecule and receptors in primary airway fibroblasts of mustard gas injured patients may be involved in progression of airway remodeling of these patients.
authors.affiliation: Genomics Division, Systems Biology Institute, Chemical Injury Research Center, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran, and Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Urmia University, Urmia, Iran. mhkarimfar@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Monireh Sadat
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Mirzamani
authors.forename: Mohammad Reza
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Nourani
authors.forename: Abbas Ali
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Imani Fooladi
authors.forename: Samad
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zare
authors.forename: Majid
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ebrahimi
authors.forename: Samaneh
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yazdani
authors.forename: Mostafa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ghanei
authors.forename: Mohammad Hassan
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Karimfar
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D056151:Airway Remodeling / Q000187:drug effects*; D015153:Blotting, Western; D001980:Bronchi / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D001999:Bronchoscopy; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002619:Chemical Warfare Agents / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005347:Fibroblasts / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D001239:Inhalation; D008875:Middle Aged; D009151:Mustard Gas / Q000009:adverse effects*; D018125:Receptors, Transforming Growth Factor beta / Q000032:analysis / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta / Q000032:analysis / Q000096:biosynthesis*
chemical_list: D002619:Chemical Warfare Agents; D018125:Receptors, Transforming Growth Factor beta; D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta; D009151:Mustard Gas