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IL-11 is a crucial determinant of cardiovascular fibrosis.

ABSTRACT: Fibrosis is a common pathology in cardiovascular disease. In the heart, fibrosis causes mechanical and electrical dysfunction and in the kidney, it predicts the onset of renal failure. Transforming growth factor ?1 (TGF?1) is the principal pro-fibrotic factor, but its inhibition is associated with side effects due to its pleiotropic roles. We hypothesized that downstream effectors of TGF?1 in fibroblasts could be attractive therapeutic targets and lack upstream toxicity. Here we show, using integrated imaging-genomics analyses of primary human fibroblasts, that upregulation of interleukin-11 (IL-11) is the dominant transcriptional response to TGF?1 exposure and required for its pro-fibrotic effect. IL-11 and its receptor (IL11RA) are expressed specifically in fibroblasts, in which they drive non-canonical, ERK-dependent autocrine signalling that is required for fibrogenic protein synthesis. In mice, fibroblast-specific Il11 transgene expression or Il-11 injection causes heart and kidney fibrosis and organ failure, whereas genetic deletion of Il11ra1 protects against disease. Therefore, inhibition of IL-11 prevents fibroblast activation across organs and species in response to a range of important pro-fibrotic stimuli. These results reveal a central role of IL-11 in fibrosis and we propose that inhibition of IL-11 is a potential therapeutic strategy to treat fibrotic diseases.

SUBMITTER: Schafer S

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5807082 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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IL-11 is a crucial determinant of cardiovascular fibrosis.

Schafer Sebastian S Viswanathan Sivakumar S Widjaja Anissa A AA Lim Wei-Wen WW Moreno-Moral Aida A DeLaughter Daniel M DM Ng Benjamin B Patone Giannino G Chow Kingsley K Khin Ester E Tan Jessie J Chothani Sonia P SP Ye Lei L Rackham Owen J L OJL Ko Nicole S J NSJ Sahib Norliza E NE Pua Chee Jian CJ Zhen Nicole T G NTG Xie Chen C Wang Mao M Maatz Henrike H Lim Shiqi S Saar Kathrin K Blachut Susanne S Petretto Enrico E Schmidt Sabine S Putoczki Tracy T Guimarães-Camboa Nuno N Wakimoto Hiroko H van Heesch Sebastiaan S Sigmundsson Kristmundur K Lim See L SL Soon Jia L JL Chao Victor T T VTT Chua Yeow L YL Tan Teing E TE Evans Sylvia M SM Loh Yee J YJ Jamal Muhammad H MH Ong Kim K KK Chua Kim C KC Ong Boon-Hean BH Chakaramakkil Mathew J MJ Seidman Jonathan G JG Seidman Christine E CE Hubner Norbert N Sin Kenny Y K KYK Cook Stuart A SA

Nature 20171113 7683

Fibrosis is a common pathology in cardiovascular disease. In the heart, fibrosis causes mechanical and electrical dysfunction and in the kidney, it predicts the onset of renal failure. Transforming growth factor β1 (TGFβ1) is the principal pro-fibrotic factor, but its inhibition is associated with side effects due to its pleiotropic roles. We hypothesized that downstream effectors of TGFβ1 in fibroblasts could be attractive therapeutic targets and lack upstream toxicity. Here we show, using inte ...[more]

PMID: 29160304

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Project description:Determining the mechanism of senescence-associated pulmonary fibrosis is crucial for designing more effective treatments for chronic lung diseases. This study aimed to determine the following: whether Sirt1 and serum vitamin D decreased with physiological aging, promoting senescence-associated pulmonary fibrosis by activating TGF-β1/IL-11/MEK/ERK signaling, whether Sirt1 overexpression prevented TGF-β1/IL-11/MEK/ERK signaling-mediated senescence-associated pulmonary fibrosis in vitamin D-deficient (Cyp27b1-/- ) mice, and whether Sirt1 downregulated IL-11 expression transcribed by TGF-β1/Smad2 signaling through deacetylating histone at the IL-11 promoter in pulmonary fibroblasts. Bioinformatics analysis with RNA sequencing data from pulmonary fibroblasts of physiologically aged mice was conducted for correlation analysis. Lungs from young and physiologically aged wild-type (WT) mice were examined for cell senescence, fibrosis markers, and TGF-β1/IL-11/MEK/ERK signaling proteins, and 1,25(OH)2 D3 and IL-11 levels were detected in serum. Nine-week-old WT, Sirt1 mesenchymal transgene (Sirt1Tg ), Cyp27b1-/- , and Sirt1Tg Cyp27b1-/- mice were observed the pulmonary function, aging, and senescence-associated secretory phenotype and TGF-β1/IL-11/MEK/ERK signaling. We found that pulmonary Sirt1 and serum vitamin D decreased with physiological aging, activating TGF-β1/IL-11/MEK/ERK signaling, and promoting senescence-associated pulmonary fibrosis. Sirt1 overexpression improved pulmonary dysfunction, aging, DNA damage, senescence-associated secretory phenotype, and fibrosis through downregulating TGF-β1/IL-11/MEK/ERK signaling in Cyp27b1-/- mice. Sirt1 negatively regulated IL-11 expression through deacetylating H3K9/14ac mainly at the region from -871 to -724 of IL-11 promoter, also the major binding region of Smad2 which regulated IL-11 expression at the transcriptional level, and subsequently inhibiting TGF-β1/IL-11/MEK/ERK signaling in pulmonary fibroblasts. This signaling in aging fibroblasts could be a therapeutic target for preventing senescence-associated pulmonary fibrosis induced by vitamin D deficiency.

Project description:1.1 Introduction Cardiac fibrosis occurs in a wide range of cardiac diseases and is characterised by the transdifferentiation of cardiac fibroblasts into myofibroblasts these cells produce large quantities of extracellular matrix, resulting in myocardial scar. The profibrotic process is multi-factorial, meaning identification of effective treatments has been limited. The antifibrotic effect of the bile acid ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) is established in cases of liver fibrosis however its mechanism and role in cardiac fibrosis is less well understood. 1.2 Methods In this study, we used cellular models of cardiac fibrosis and living myocardial slices to characterise the macroscopic and cellular responses of the myocardium to UDCA treatment. We complemented this approach by conducting RNA-seq on cardiac fibroblasts isolated from dilated cardiomyopathy patients. This allowed us to gain insights into the mechanism of action and explore whether the IL-11 and TGFβ/ WWP2 profibrotic networks are influenced by UDCA. Finally, we used fibroblasts from a TGR5 KO mouse to confirm the mechanism of action. 1.3 Results and Discussion We found that UDCA reduced myofibroblast markers in rat and human fibroblasts and in living myocardial slices, indicating its antifibrotic action. Furthermore, we demonstrated that the treatment of UDCA successfully reversed the profibrotic IL-11 and TGFβ/ WWP2 gene networks. We also show that TGR5 is the most highly expressed UDCA receptor in cardiac fibroblasts. Utilising cells isolated from a TGR5 knock-out mouse, we identified that the antifibrotic effect of UDCA is attenuated in the KO fibroblasts. This study combines cellular studies with RNA-seq and state-of-the-art living myocardial slices to offer new perspectives on cardiac fibrosis. Our data confirm that TGR5 agonists, such as UDCA, offer a unique pathway of action for the treatment of cardiac fibrosis. Medicines for cardiac fibrosis have been slow to clinic and have the potential to be used in the treatment of multiple cardiac diseases. UDCA is well tolerated in the treatment of other diseases, indicating it is an excellent candidate for further in-human trials.

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IL-11 is a crucial determinant of cardiovascular fibrosis.

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IL-11 is a crucial determinant of cardiovascular fibrosis.

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