title: Mesenchymal stem cells suppress lung inflammation and airway remodeling in chronic asthma rat model via PI3K/Akt signaling pathway.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) came out to attract wide attention and had become one of the hotspots of most diseases' research in decades. But at present, the mechanisms of how MSCs work on chronic asthma remain undefined. Our study aims at verifying whether MSCs play a role in preventing inflammation and airway remodeling via PI3K/AKT signaling pathway in the chronic asthma rats model.
  
  
  METHODS
  First, an ovalbumin (OVA)-induced asthma model was built. MSCs were administered to ovalbumin-induced asthma rats. The total cells in a bronchial alveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and inflammatory mediators in BALF and serum were measured. Histological examination of lung tissue was performed to estimate the pathological changes. Additionally, the expression of phosphorylated-Akt (p-Akt) in all groups was measured by western blot and immunohistochemistry (IHC).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Compared to normal control group, the degree of airway inflammation and airway remodeling was significantly increased in asthma group. On the contrary, they were obviously inhibited in MSCs transplantation group. Moreover, the expression of p-Akt was increased in lung tissues of asthmatic rats, and suppressed by MSCs transplantation.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results demonstrated that MSCs transplantation could suppress lung inflammation and airway remodeling via PI3K/Akt signaling pathway in rat asthma model.
authors.affiliation: Department of Respiratory Medicine, Shanghai Tenth People's Hospital, Tongji University Shanghai 200072, Peoples PR China ; Department of Respiratory Medicine, Huai'an First Peoples's Hospital, Nanjing Medical University Nanjing, China.
authors.forename: Hai-Yan
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Department of Respiratory Medicine, Shanghai Tenth People's Hospital, Tongji University Shanghai 200072, Peoples PR China.
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Department of Respiratory Medicine, Shanghai Tenth People's Hospital, Tongji University Shanghai 200072, Peoples PR China.
authors.forename: Shuan-Shuan
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.affiliation: Department of Nuclear Medicine, Shanghai Tenth People's Hospital, Tongji University Shanghai 200072, Peoples PR China.
authors.forename: Fei
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Department of Geriatric Respiratory, Qianfoshan Hospital Affiliated to Shandong University Jinan 250014, Shandong, China.
authors.forename: Hai-Yang
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: Department of Respiratory Medicine, Shanghai Tenth People's Hospital, Tongji University Shanghai 200072, Peoples PR China.
authors.forename: Xiao-Lian
authors.initials: XL
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: Department of Respiratory Medicine, Shanghai Tenth People's Hospital, Tongji University Shanghai 200072, Peoples PR China.
authors.forename: Chang-Hui
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D056151:Airway Remodeling / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D001249:Asthma / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy; D001992:Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D008168:Lung / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D045164:Mesenchymal Stem Cell Transplantation; D010047:Ovalbumin; D019869:Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases / Q000378:metabolism*; D011014:Pneumonia / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D010047:Ovalbumin; D019869:Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt
keywords: Asthma; PI3K/Akt; airway remodeling; inflammation; mesenchymal stem cells; signaling pathway