Treatment of allergic airway inflammation and hyperrespon-siveness by imiquimod modulating transcription factors T-bet and GATA-3

作     者：BIAN Tao YIN Kai-sheng JIN Shu-xian ZHANG Xi-long ZHOU Jin-yong MA Xiu-qin HU Jing-jing DE Wei 

作者机构：Department of Respiratory Medicine First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University Nanjing 210029 China 

出 版 物：《Chinese Medical Journal》 (中华医学杂志（英文版）)

年 卷 期：2006年第119卷第8期

页      面：640-648页

核心收录：

学科分类：1002[医学-临床医学] 100201[医学-内科学(含：心血管病、血液病、呼吸系病、消化系病、内分泌与代谢病、肾病、风湿病、传染病)] 10[医学] 

主　　题：asthma T-bet GATA-3 imiquimod 

摘      要：Background Imiquimod is an imidazoquinoline, which class of compounds are known to have antiviral and antitumoural properties. In recent studies, it was shown that imiquimod modulates the T helper cell type Th1/Th2 response by inducing the production of Thl cytokines like IFN-γ, and by inhibiting the Th2 cytokines like interleukin （IL）-4. Several investigators have shown that T-bet and GATA-3 are master Thl and Th2 regulatory transcription factors. This study investigated whether irniquimod treatment inhibited airway inflammation by modulating transcription factors T-bet and GATA-3. Methods Thirty-six male SD rats were randomly divided into a control group, an asthmatic group, and an imiquimod group, which was exposed to an aerosol of 0.15% imiquimod. Twenty-four hours after the last ovalbumin （OVA） challenge, airway responsiveness was measured and changes in airway histology were observed. The concentrations of IL-4, IL-5 and IFN-γ in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid （BALF） and serum were measured by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA）. The rnRNA expressions of IL-4, IL-5, IFN-γ, T-bet and GATA-3 in lung and in CD4^＋ T cells were determined by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction （RT-PCR）. The protein expressions ofT-bet and GATA-3 were measured by Western blot. Results It was demonstrated that imiquimod 1） attenuated OVA induced airway inflammation; 2） diminished the degree of airway hyperresponsiveness （AHR）; 3） decreased the Th2 type cytokines and increased Thl type cytokines mRNA and protein levels; 4） modulated the Th1/Th2 reaction by inhibiting GATA-3 production and increasing T-bet production. Conclusion Imiquimod treatment inhibits OVA induced airway inflammation by modulating key master switches GATA-3 and T-bet that result in committing T helper cells to a Thl phenotype.