Rationale: Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a devastating disease characterized by epithelial phenotypic changes and fibroblast activation. Based on the temporal heterogeneity of IPF, we hypothesized that hyperplastic alveolar epithelial cells regulate the fibrotic response. Objectives: To identify novel mediators of fibrosis comparing the transcriptional signature of hyperplastic epithelial cells and conserved epithelial cells in the same lung. Methods: Laser capture microscope and microarrays analysis were used to identify differentially expressed genes in IPF lungs. Bleomycininduced lung fibrosis was evaluated in Mmp19-deficient and wild-type (WT) mice. The role of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-19 was additionally studied by transfecting the human MMP19 in alveolar epithelial cells. Measurements and Main Results: Laser capture microscope followed by microarray analysis revealed a novel mediator, MMP-19, in hyperplastic epithelial cells adjacent to fibrotic regions. Mmp19 2/2 mice showed a significantly increased lung fibrotic response to bleomycin compared with WT mice. A549 epithelial cells transfected with human MMP19 stimulated wound healing and cell migration, whereas silencing MMP19 had the opposite effect. Gene expression microarray of transfected A549 cells showed that PTGS2 (prostaglandin-endoperoxide synthase 2) was one of the highly induced genes. PTGS2 was overexpressed in IPF lungs and colocalized with MMP-19 in hyperplastic epithelial cells. In WT mice, PTGS2 was significantly increased in bronchoalveolar lavage and lung tissues after bleomycin-induced fibrosis, but not in Mmp19 2/2 mice. Inhibition of Mmp-19 by siRNA resulted in inhibition of Ptgs2 at mRNA and protein levels. Conclusions: Up-regulation of MMP19 induced by lung injury may play a protective role in the development of fibrosis through the induction of PTGS2.

MicroRNAs are small noncoding RNAs that inhibit protein expression. We have previously shown that the inhibition of the microRNA let-7d in epithelial cells caused changes consistent with epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) both in vitro and in vivo. The aim of this study was to determine whether the introduction of let-7d into fibroblasts alters their mesenchymal properties. Transfection of primary fibroblasts with let-7d caused a decrease in expression of the mesenchymal markers α-smooth muscle actin, N-cadherin, fibroblast-specific protein-1, and fibronectin, as well as an increase in the epithelial markers tight junction protein-1 and keratin 19. Phenotypic changes were also present, including a delay in wound healing, reduced motility, and proliferation of fibroblasts following transfection. In addition, we examined the effects of transfection on fibroblast responsiveness to TGF-β, an important factor in many fibrotic processes such as lung fibrosis and found that let-7d transfection significantly attenuated high-mobility group-A2 protein induction by TGF-β. Our results indicate that administration of the epithelial microRNA let-7d can significantly alter the phenotype of primary fibroblasts.

Genetic epidemiological studies have shown that genetic factors are important in the pathogenesis of the idiopathic inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), Crohn disease (CD), and ulcerative colitis (UC). A genome screen in the United Kingdom found linkage of IBD to a 41-cM region of chromosome 12, surrounding D12S83. We aimed to replicate this linkage and to narrow the region of interest. Nonparametric linkage analyses at microsatellites surrounding D12S83 were performed in 122 North American Caucasian families containing 208 genotyped IBD-affected relative pairs. Transmission/disequilibrium tests (TDTs) were also performed. We confirmed that IBD is linked to chromosome 12 (peak GENEHUNTER-PLUS LOD* score 2.76 [P = .00016] between D12S1724 and D12S90). The evidence for linkage is contributed by both the group of CD-affected relative pairs (peak GENEHUNTER-PLUS LOD* score 1.79 [P = .0021] between D12S1724 and D12S90) and the group of UC-affected relative pairs (peak GENEHUNTER-PLUS LOD* score 1.82 [P = .0019] at D12S335). The TDT is positive at the D12S83 locus (global chi2 = 16.41, 6 df, P = .012). In conclusion, we have independently confirmed linkage of IBD to the chromosome 12 region that we investigated. A positive TDT at D12S83 suggests that we have greatly narrowed the chromosome 12 region that contains an IBD locus.

While human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) are predisposed towards chromosomal aneploidities on 12, 17, 20 and X, rendering them susceptible to transformation, the specific genes expressed are not yet known. Here, by identifying the genes over expressed in pluripotent rhesus ESCs (nhpESCs) and comparing them to both their genetically-identical differentiated progeny (teratoma fibroblasts) as well as genetically-related differentiated parental cells (parental skin fibroblasts from whom gametes were used for ESC derivation), we find that some of those over expressed genes in nhpESCs cluster preferentially on rhesus chromosomes 16, 19, 20 and X, homologues of human chromosomes 17, 19, 16 and X respectively. Differentiated parental skin fibroblasts display gene expression profiles closer to nhpESC profiles than to teratoma cells, which are genetically identical to the pluripotent nhpESCs. Twenty over and under expressed pluripotency modulators, some implicated in neurogenesis, have been identified. The over expression of some of these genes discovered using pedigreed nhpESCs derived from prime embryos generated by fertile primates, which is impossible to perform with the anonymously donated clinically-discarded embryos from which hESCs are derived, independently confirms the importance of chromosome 17 and X regions in pluripotency and suggests specific candidates for targeting differentiation and transformation decisions.