title: YAP is up-regulated in the bronchial airway smooth muscle of the chronic asthma mouse model.
abstract: Asthma is characterized by leukocytic infiltration and tissue remodeling with structural changes including subepithelial fibrosis and ASM cells proliferation. The Hippo pathway is a key regulatory point involved in cell proliferation, fibroblasts, and smooth muscle cell differentiation. In order to disclose the relation between asthma and the Hippo pathway, expression of the Yes-associated protein (YAP), a key gene in the Hippo pathway, in the bronchial smooth muscle of chronic asthma model (CAM) was studied. 40 mice were randomly divided into control (wide type) and experimental group to construct CAM using chicken ovalbumin (OVA). Pathological changes of the lung tissues were observed in the CAM mice compared with the control using HE staining method. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) was used to detect if YAP protein is expressed in the lung tissues. The pathological changes of the CAM group showed that a large number of inflammatory cells infiltration including mainly lymphocytes and a small amount of eosinophilic, with the presence of certain airway smooth muscle hyperplasia, was observed in comparison with the control. IHC results showed that the YAP protein was significantly increased compared with the control groups (P < 0.01). This result was further confirmed by quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) assay which detected the up-regulation of the YAP gene (P < 0.01) and Western blot. In conclusion, the YAP protein was significantly expressed in the bronchial airway tissues of the CAM mice, and could be used as an indicator for asthma.
authors.affiliation: Department of Respiratory Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University 17 Yongwai, Donghu District, Nanchang 330006, Jiangxi, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Department of Respiratory Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University 17 Yongwai, Donghu District, Nanchang 330006, Jiangxi, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Fei
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Department of Respiratory Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University 17 Yongwai, Donghu District, Nanchang 330006, Jiangxi, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Jing Jing
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Department of Respiratory Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University 17 Yongwai, Donghu District, Nanchang 330006, Jiangxi, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D048868:Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D056151:Airway Remodeling; D000818:Animals; D001249:Asthma / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism; D001980:Bronchi / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins; D002908:Chronic Disease; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D006965:Hyperplasia; D051379:Mice; D009130:Muscle, Smooth / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D010047:Ovalbumin; D010750:Phosphoproteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D015398:Signal Transduction; D015854:Up-Regulation; D000091102:YAP-Signaling Proteins
chemical_list: D048868:Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing; D015415:Biomarkers; D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins; D010750:Phosphoproteins; D000091102:YAP-Signaling Proteins; C486223:Yap1 protein, mouse; D010047:Ovalbumin
keywords: Yes-assoeiated protein (YAP); airway smooth muscle (ASM); chronic asthma model (CAM); immunohistochemistry (IHC); quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR); the Hippo pathway