Up-Regulation and Profibrotic Role of Osteopontin in Human Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis

BACKGROUND: Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a progressive and lethal disorder characterized by fibroproliferation and excessive accumulation of extracellular matrix in the lung. METHODS AND FINDINGS: Using oligonucleotide arrays, we identified osteopontin as one of the genes that significantly distinguishes IPF from normal lungs. Osteopontin was localized to alveolar epithelial cells in IPF lungs and was also significantly elevated in bronchoalveolar lavage from IPF patients. To study the fibrosis-relevant effects of osteopontin we stimulated primary human lung fibroblasts and alveolar epithelial cells (A549) with recombinant osteopontin. Osteopontin induced a significant increase of migration and proliferation in both fibroblasts and epithelial cells. Epithelial growth was inhibited by the pentapeptide Gly-Arg-Gly-Asp-Ser (GRGDS) and antibody to CD44, while fibroproliferation was inhibited by GRGDS and antibody to α(v)β(3) integrin. Fibroblast and epithelial cell migration were inhibited by GRGDS, anti-CD44, and anti-α(v)β(3). In fibroblasts, osteopontin up-regulated tissue inhibitor of metalloprotease-1 and type I collagen, and down-regulated matrix metalloprotease-1 (MMP-1) expression, while in A549 cells it caused up-regulation of MMP-7. In human IPF lungs, osteopontin colocalized with MMP-7 in alveolar epithelial cells, and application of weakest link statistical models to microarray data suggested a significant interaction between osteopontin and MMP-7. CONCLUSIONS: Our results provide a potential mechanism by which osteopontin secreted from the alveolar epithelium may exert a profibrotic effect in IPF lungs and highlight osteopontin as a potential target for therapeutic intervention in this incurable disease

Repositioning of the global epicentre of non-optimal cholesterol

High blood cholesterol is typically considered a feature of wealthy western countries(1,2). However, dietary and behavioural determinants of blood cholesterol are changing rapidly throughout the world(3) and countries are using lipid-lowering medications at varying rates. These changes can have distinct effects on the levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and non-HDL cholesterol, which have different effects on human health(4,5). However, the trends of HDL and non-HDL cholesterol levels over time have not been previously reported in a global analysis. Here we pooled 1,127 population-based studies that measured blood lipids in 102.6 million individuals aged 18 years and older to estimate trends from 1980 to 2018 in mean total, non-HDL and HDL cholesterol levels for 200 countries. Globally, there was little change in total or non-HDL cholesterol from 1980 to 2018. This was a net effect of increases in low- and middle-income countries, especially in east and southeast Asia, and decreases in high-income western countries, especially those in northwestern Europe, and in central and eastern Europe. As a result, countries with the highest level of non-HDL cholesterol-which is a marker of cardiovascular riskchanged from those in western Europe such as Belgium, Finland, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and Malta in 1980 to those in Asia and the Pacific, such as Tokelau, Malaysia, The Philippines and Thailand. In 2017, high non-HDL cholesterol was responsible for an estimated 3.9 million (95% credible interval 3.7 million-4.2 million) worldwide deaths, half of which occurred in east, southeast and south Asia. The global repositioning of lipid-related risk, with non-optimal cholesterol shifting from a distinct feature of high-income countries in northwestern Europe, north America and Australasia to one that affects countries in east and southeast Asia and Oceania should motivate the use of population-based policies and personal interventions to improve nutrition and enhance access to treatment throughout the world.Peer reviewe

Weakest Link Models of Osteopontin and MMP-7

<p>IPF samples are depicted in solid dots and controls in open dots; the y-axis is MMP-7 expression and x-axis is osteopontin expression. Black solid line is the curve of optimal use showing that the expression levels for MMP-7 and osteopontin jointly interact to determine the IPF phenotype. The probability contour plot is shown in terms of the observed expression data (scale is log base 2 for gene expression data) (A); and probability contour plot is shown in terms of percentiles of the data (scale is percentiles) (B).</p

Osteopontin Levels in BAL Fluid

<p>Quantification of osteopontin by ELISA was performed in BAL fluid samples from 18 IPF patients and 10 healthy individual controls. An increased concentration of soluble osteopontin was found in the BAL fluid obtained from IPF patients compared with healthy controls. The data represent the mean ± standard deviation (SD). * <i>p</i> < 0.01.</p

Effect of Osteopontin on Fibroblasts and Epithelial Cell Migration

<div><p>Fibroblasts (A) and A549 epithelial cells (B) were placed in the upper compartment of a Boyden-type chamber, and Ham's F-12 medium containing 5% BSA alone or with 10 μg/ml of osteopontin was added to the lower compartment. After 8 h of incubation, the migrating cells were stained, and the absorbance of the stained solution was measured by ELISA. In parallel experiments, osteopontin-stimulated cells were treated with anti-α_vβ₃, anti-CD44, and GRGDS. Each bar represents the mean ± SD of three experiments; *<i>p</i> < 0.01; **<i>p</i> < 0.05.</p> <p>OPN, osteopontin</p></div

Effect of Osteopontin on MMP-7 Gene and Protein Expression and Activity in A549 Epithelial Cells

<div><p>(A) Northern blot of 20 μg total cellular RNA per lane extracted from control and A549 cells stimulated with 0.4, 1, and 2 μg/ml osteopontin.</p> <p>(B) Densitometry of Northern blot and normalization of MMP-7 to 18S demonstrates a 3- to 4-fold increase in MMP-7 over control.</p> <p>(C) Real-time PCR showing up-regulation of MMP-7 expression by osteopontin (*<i>p</i> < 0.01) and inhibition by anti-α_vβ₃, anti-CD44, anti-EGFR, and GRGDS.</p> <p>(D) Western blot demonstrating an increase of immunoreactive MMP-7 in conditioned medium from A549 epithelial cells stimulated with osteopontin. Activation of pro-MMP-7 by APMA is shown in leftmost lane.</p> <p>(E) Zymography of conditioned media in 12.5% SDS gels containing bovine CM-transferrin (0.3 mg/ml) and heparin as substrate.</p> <p>C, control; OPN, osteopontin.</p></div

Localization of Osteopontin in IPF Lungs

<p>Immunoreactive protein was revealed with AEC, and samples were counterstained with hematoxylin. Two representative IPF lung samples exhibited strong epithelial staining (original magnification, 40×) (A,B). Control lung showed no staining (C). Negative control section from IPF lung in which the primary antibody was replaced with nonimmune serum also showed no staining (40×) (D).</p