Proceedings of the American Thoracic Society
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The Proceedings of the American Thoracic Society 7:77-83 (2010)
© 2010 The American Thoracic Society
doi: 10.1513/pats.200906-055JS
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Proteasomal Regulation of Pulmonary Fibrosis

Curtis H. Weiss1, G. R. Scott Budinger1, Gökhan M. Mutlu1 and Manu Jain1

1 Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois

Correspondence and requests for reprints should be addressed to Manu Jain, M.D., M.S., Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Northwestern University, 240 East Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611. E-mail: m-jain{at}northwestern.edu

ABSTRACT

It is estimated that, combined, 400,000 people are diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) or acute lung injury/acute respiratory distress syndrome annually in the United States, and both diseases are associated with an unacceptably high mortality rate. Although these disorders are distinct clinical entities, they share pathogenic mechanisms that may provide overlapping therapeutic targets. One example is fibroblast activation, which occurs concomitant with acute lung injury as well as in the progressive fibrosis of IPF. Both clinical entities are characterized by elevations of the profibrotic cytokine, transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1. Protein degradation by the ubiquitin–proteasomal system modulates TGF-β1 expression and signaling. In this review, we highlight the effects of proteasomal inhibition in various animal models of tissue fibrosis and mechanisms by which it may regulate TGF-β1 expression and signaling. At present, there are no effective therapies for fibroproliferative acute respiratory distress syndrome or IPF, and proteasomal inhibition may provide a novel, attractive target in these devastating diseases.

Key Words: acute respiratory distress syndrome • transforming growth factor-β1 • Smad • ubiquitination






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