Pregnancy-associated plasma protein-A (PAPP-A) is a key component of an interactive cellular mechanism promoting pulmonary fibrosis.
Laurie K BaleMarissa J SchaferElizabeth J AtkinsonNathan K Le BrasseurAndrew J HaakClaus OxvigCheryl A ConoverPublished in: Journal of cellular physiology (2022)
Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a progressive lung disease with few effective treatment options. We found a highly significant correlation between pregnancy-associated plasma protein (PAPP)-A expression in IPF lung tissue and disease severity as measured by various pulmonary and physical function tests. PAPP-A is a metalloproteinase that enhances local insulin-like growth factor (IGF) activity. We used primary cultures of normal adult human lung fibroblasts (NHLF) to test the hypothesis that PAPP-A plays an important role in the development of pulmonary fibrosis. Treatment of NHLF with pro-fibrotic transforming growth factor (TGF)-β stimulated marked increases in IGF-I mRNA expression (>20-fold) and measurable IGF-I levels in 72-h conditioned medium (CM). TGF-β treatment also increased PAPP-A levels in CM fourfold (p = 0.004) and proteolytic activity ~2-fold. There was an indirect effect of TGF-β to stimulate signaling through the PI3K/Akt pathway, which was significantly inhibited by both IGF-I-inactivating and PAPP-A inhibitory antibodies. Induction of senescence in NHLF increased PAPP-A levels in CM 10-fold (p = 0.006) with attendant increased proteolytic activity. Thus, PAPP-A is a novel component of the senescent lung fibroblast secretome. In addition, NHLF secreted extracellular vehicles (EVs) with surface-bound active PAPP-A that were increased fivefold with senescence. Regulation of PAPP-A and IGF signaling by TGF-β and cell senescence suggests an interactive cellular mechanism underlying the resistance to apoptosis and the progression of fibrosis in IPF. Furthermore, PAPP-A-associated EVs may be a means of pro-fibrotic, pro-senescent communication with other cells in the lung and, thus, a potential therapeutic target for IPF.
Keyphrases
- idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis
- transforming growth factor
- pulmonary fibrosis
- binding protein
- pi k akt
- epithelial mesenchymal transition
- cell cycle arrest
- interstitial lung disease
- endothelial cells
- dna damage
- growth hormone
- systemic sclerosis
- oxidative stress
- stem cells
- signaling pathway
- induced apoptosis
- poor prognosis
- multiple sclerosis
- stress induced
- pulmonary hypertension
- pregnant women
- risk assessment
- protein protein
- human health
- mesenchymal stem cells
- amino acid