Discovery of role of tetraspanin CD151 in fibrotic diseases
discovery will likely lead to new therapies
Under the leadership of TAKEDA Yoshito , Assistant Professor, Department of Respiratory Medicine, Allergy and Rheumatic Disease, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University, and TSUJINO Kazuyuki , M.D., Osaka University, a group of researchers has discovered that a lack of or a deficiency in Tetraspanin CD151 leads to the development of pulmonary fibrosis, an intractable respiratory disease. In other words, membrane protein Tetraspanin CD151 protects against pulmonary fibrosis.
Mice that cannot produce CD151 manifested conditions similar to human pulmonary fibrosis, such as compromised respiratory function and elevation of pulmonary collagen.
Moreover, CD151-deficient mice administered the anticancer agent bleomycin, a fibrosis-stimulating agent, developed pulmonary fibrosis and died earlier than wild-type mice. Through such means, the group discovered a link between degraded epithelial integrity via attenuated adhesion strength of the basement membrane and the development of pulmonary fibrosis. Lower levels in CD151 in lung epithelial cells was also observed in human patients with pulmonary fibrosis.
CD151-deficient mice were found to be one of few animal models for pulmonary fibrosis that was similar to human pulmonary fibrosis. Thus, CD151 knockout mice will be used as animal pulmonary fibrosis models for evaluating drug effectiveness and are expected to be useful for clarifying the mechanism of pulmonary fibrosis. In other words, the possible development of drugs that can bring about an increase in the level of CD151 may lead to effective treatments for pulmonary fibrosis.
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To learn more about this important discovery, please read the full research report entitled " Tetraspanin CD151 Protects against Pulmonary Fibrosis by Maintaining Epithelial Integrity " at this page on the Nature Communications website.
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