Anti-fibrotic effect of pirfenidone in muscle derived-fibroblasts from Duchenne muscular dystrophy patients

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• 作者：Simona Zanotti ; Cinzia Bragato ; Andrea Zucchella ; Lorenzo Maggi ; Renato Mantegazza ; Lucia Morandi ; Marina Mora ; ^{mmora@istituto-besta.it" class="auth_mail" title="E-mail the corresponding author}
• 关键词：Pirfenidone ; Fibrosis ; Fibrotic nodules ; Duchenne muscle dystrophy
• 刊名：Life Sciences
• 出版年：2016
• 出版时间：15 January 2016
• 年：2016
• 卷：145
• 期：Complete
• 页码：127-136
• 全文大小：2021 K

文摘

Tissue fibrosis, characterized by excessive deposition of extracellular matrix proteins, is the end point of diseases affecting the kidney, bladder, liver, lung, gut, skin, heart and muscle. In Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), connective fibrotic tissue progressively substitutes muscle fibers. So far no specific pharmacological treatment is available for muscle fibrosis. Among promising anti-fibrotic molecules, pirfenidone has shown anti-fibrotic and anti-inflammatory activity in animal and cell models, and has already been employed in clinical trials. Therefore we tested pirfenidone anti-fibrotic properties in an in vitro model of muscle fibrosis.

Main methods

We evaluated effect of pirfenidone on fibroblasts isolated from DMD muscle biopsies. These cells have been previously characterized as having a pro-fibrotic phenotype. We tested cell proliferation and migration, secretion of soluble collagens, intracellular levels of collagen type I and fibronectin, and diameter of 3D fibrotic nodules.

Key findings

We found that pirfenidone significantly reduced proliferation and cell migration of control and DMD muscle-derived fibroblasts, decreased extracellular secretion of soluble collagens by control and DMD fibroblasts, as well as levels of collagen type I and fibronectin, and, in DMD fibroblasts only, reduced synthesis and deposition of intracellular collagen. Furthermore, pirfenidone was able to reduce the diameter of fibrotic-nodules in our 3D model of in vitro fibrosis.

Significance

These pre-clinical results indicate that pirfenidone has potential anti-fibrotic effects also in skeletal muscle fibrosis, urging further studies in in vivo animal models of muscular dystrophy in order to translate the drug into the treatment of muscle fibrosis in DMD patients.