Elucidating WNT/Bcatenin in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

2015 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 25860665
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Respiratory organ internal medicine
• Research Institution: University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Japan
• Principal Investigator: ODA Keishi 産業医科大学, 医学部, 修練指導医 (00625527)
• Project Period (FY): 2013-04-01 – 2016-03-31
• Keywords: 特発性肺線維症 / 線維芽細胞 / WNT/β-catenin signaling / 急性増悪

Outline of Final Research Achievements

We evaluated the expression of WNT10A and TGF-β in bleomycin (BLM)-treated mice and the interactions between TGF-β or BLM and WNT10A in vitro. Additionally, we investigated IPF patients who underwent video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery to determine whether the WNT10A expression is related to the survival.
Increased WNT10A and TGF-β expressions were noted in the BLM-treated mice. Real-time PCR and luciferase reporter assays demonstrated the levels of WNT10A and collagen in the fibroblasts cells to increase after TGF-β administration. A Kaplan-Meier survival analysis demonstrated a tendency toward a poor survival among the IPF patients with a WNT10A-positive expression compared to those with a negative expression. An overexpression of WNT10A was found to be significantly predictive of an acute exacerbation of IPF (AE-IPF).
WNT10A plays an important role in the pathogenesis of IPF via TGF-β activation and it may also be a sensitive predictor for the onset of an AE-IPF.

Free Research Field

呼吸器内科