A Novel CD206 Targeting Peptide Inhibits Bleomycin Induced Pulmonary Fibrosis in Mice

Gheberemedhin, A.; Salam, A. B.; Adu-Addai, B.; Noonan, S.; Stratton, R.; Ahmed, M. S. U.; khantwal, C.; Martin, G.; Huixian, L.; Andrews, C.; Balasubramanyam, K.; Udo, R.; Henry, L.; Jaynes, J.; Yates, C.

doi:10.1101/2020.07.27.218115

bioRxiv · 10.1101/2020.07.27.218115

A Novel CD206 Targeting Peptide Inhibits Bleomycin Induced Pulmonary Fibrosis in Mice

Gheberemedhin, A.·Salam, A. B.·Adu-Addai, B.·Noonan, S.·Stratton, R.·Ahmed, M. S. U.·khantwal, C.·Martin, G.·Huixian, L.·Andrews, C.·Balasubramanyam, K.·Udo, R.·Henry, L.·Jaynes, J.·Yates, C.

View original source ↗Export metadata ↓

Abstract

Activated M2 polarized macrophages are drivers of pulmonary fibrosis in several clinical scenarios such as Acute Respiratory Disease Syndrome (ARDS) and Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF), through the production of inflammatory and fibrosis-inducing cytokines. In this study, we investigated the effect of targeting the CD206 receptor with a novel fragment of a Host Defense Peptide (HDP), RP-832c to decrease cytokines that cause fibrosis. RP-832c selectively binds to CD206 on M2 polarized bone marrow derived macrophages (BMDM) in vitro, resulting in a time-dependent decrease in CD206 expression, and a transient increase in M1 marker TNF, which resolves over a 24hr period. To elucidate the antifibrotic effect of RP-832c, we used a murine model of bleomycin (BLM) -induced early-stage pulmonary fibrosis. RP-832c significantly reduced bleomycin-induced fibrosis in a dosage dependent manner, as well as decreased CD206, TGF-{beta}1 and -SMA expression in mouse lungs. Interestingly we did not observe any changes in the resident alveolar macrophage marker CD170 expression. Similarly, in an established model of lung fibrosis, RP-832c significantly decreased fibrosis in the lung, as well as significantly decreased inflammatory cytokines TNF, IL-6, IL-10, INF-{gamma}, CXCL1/2, and fibrosis markers TGF-{beta}1 and MMP-13. In comparison with FDA approved drugs, Nintedanib and Pirfenidone, RP-832c exhibited a similar reduction in fibrosis compared to Pirfenidone, and to a greater extent than Nintedanib, with no apparent toxicities observed on body weight or blood chemistry. In summary, RP-832c is a potential agent to mitigate the overactivity of M2 macrophages in pathogenesis several pulmonary fibrotic diseases, including SARS-CoV-2 induced lung fibrosis.

Explore related subjects

pathology Preprint

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeX RIS

Gheberemedhin, A., Salam, A. B., Adu-Addai, B., Noonan, S., Stratton, R., Ahmed, M. S. U., khantwal, C., Martin, G., Huixian, L., Andrews, C., Balasubramanyam, K., Udo, R., Henry, L., Jaynes, J., Yates, C.. 2020-07-29. A Novel CD206 Targeting Peptide Inhibits Bleomycin Induced Pulmonary Fibrosis in Mice. https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.07.27.218115

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related preprints

bioRxiv2026

NAE1-Dependent Protein Neddylation Preserves Endothelial Identity and Vascular Integrity

Background: Endothelial dysfunction is a central driver of cardiovascular and inflammatory diseases, yet the post-translational mechanisms that preserve endothelial homeostasis remain incompletely understood. Protein neddylation, the covalent conjugation of a ubiquitin-like modifier, regulates diverse cellular processes, yet its physiological role in the vascular endothelium remains unknown. This study investigated whether protein neddylation is required to preserve endothelial identity and vascular homeostasis. Methods: We generated tamoxifen-inducible endothelial-specific Nae1 knockout mice to inhibit neddylation and combined bulk RNA sequencing, single-cell and single-nucleus transcriptomics, quantitative proteomics, biochemical analyses, and gain- and loss-of-function approaches to define the role of endothelial neddylation in vascular homeostasis and inflammatory injury. Results: Endothelial-specific Nae1 deletion caused rapid mortality associated with vascular leakage, platelet accumulation, inflammation, and multi-organ injury. Multi-omics analyses demonstrated profound loss of endothelial identity, characterized by suppression of core endothelial programs and activation of inflammatory, procoagulant, and pyroptotic pathways. Single-cell analyses revealed progressive endothelial dysfunction culminating in depletion of the endothelial population and remodeling of the vascular niche. Mechanistically, endothelial neddylation deficiency activated gasdermin D (GSDMD)- and gasdermin E (GSDME)-dependent pyroptosis, whereas dual inhibition of GSDMD and GSDME markedly attenuated inflammatory transcriptomic remodeling, vascular injury, hepatocyte death, immune cell infiltration, and platelet accumulation. Translational analyses demonstrated reduced endothelial neddylation in experimental endotoxemia and decreased expression of neddylation pathway components in human atherosclerosis and COVID-19 datasets. Conversely, restoration of endothelial neddylation partially reversed inflammatory endothelial transcriptomic reprogramming in vivo. Conclusions: NAE1-dependent protein neddylation is an essential regulator of endothelial identity and vascular integrity. Loss of endothelial neddylation promotes gasdermin-dependent pyroptosis and thrombo-inflammatory vascular injury, whereas restoration of the neddylation pathway mitigates inflammatory endothelial dysfunction. These findings identify endothelial neddylation as a fundamental mechanism maintaining vascular homeostasis and a potential therapeutic target for cardiovascular and inflammatory diseases.

pathology↗

bioRxiv2021

Ex Vivo Culture Models of Hidradenitis Suppurativa for defining molecular pathogenesis and treatment efficacy of novel drugs

Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a complex inflammatory and debilitating skin disease for which no effective treatment is available. This is partly because of the unavailability of suitable human or animal models with which exact pathobiology of the disease can be defined. Here, we describe the development of air-liquid (A-L) interface, liquid-liquid/liquid-submersion (L-S) and bioreactor (Bio) ex vivo skin culture models. All three ex vivo platforms were effective for culturing skin samples up to day-14, with the tissue architecture and integrity remaining intact for at least 3 days for healthy skin while for 14 days for HS skin. Up to day-3, no significant differences were observed in % early apoptotic cells among all three platforms. However, an increase was observed in late apoptotic/necrotic cells in HS skin at day-3 in A-L and Bio culture of HS skin. These cultures efficiently support the growth of various cells populations, including keratinocytes and immune cells. Profiling of the inflammatory genes using HS skin from these ex vivo cultures showed dynamic expression changes at day-3 and day-14. All of these cultures are necessary to represent the inflammatory gene status of HS skin at day-0 suggesting that not all gene clusters are identically altered in each culture method. Similarly, cytokine/chemokine profiling of the supernatant from vehicle- and drug-treated ex vivo HS cultures again showed better prediction of drug efficacy against HS. Overall, development of these three systems collectively provide a powerful tool to uncover the pathobiology of HS progression and screen various drugs against HS.

pathology↗

bioRxiv2021

Speckle illumination microscopy enables slide-free and non-destructive pathology of human lung adenocarcinoma

Histopathology based on formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded tissues remains the gold standard for surgical margin assessment (SMA). However, routine pathological practice is lengthy and laborious, failing to provide immediate feedback to surgeons and pathologists for intraoperative decision-making. In this report, we propose a cost-effective and easy-to-use histological imaging method with speckle illumination microscopy (i.e., HiLo). HiLo can achieve rapid and non-destructive imaging of large and fluorescently-labelled resection tissues at an acquisition speed of 5 cm2/min with 1.3-m lateral resolution and 5.8-m axial resolution, demonstrating a great potential as an intraoperative SMA tool that can be used by surgeons and pathologists to detect residual tumors at surgical margins. It is experimentally validated that HiLo enables rapid diagnosis of different subtypes of human lung adenocarcinoma and hepatocellular carcinoma, producing images with remarkably recognizable cellular features comparable to the gold-standard histology. This work will facilitate the clinical translations of HiLo microscopy to improve the current standard-of-care.

pathology↗