3-(2,4-dichlorophenyl)-4-(1-methyl-1H-indol-3-yl)-1H-pyrrole-2,5-dione (SB216763), a glycogen synthase kinase-3 inhibitor, displays therapeutic properties in a mouse model of pulmonary inflammation and fibrosis

J Pharmacol Exp Ther. 2010 Mar;332(3):785-94. doi: 10.1124/jpet.109.153049. Epub 2009 Dec 3.

Abstract

Glycogen synthase kinase (GSK)-3 modulates the production of inflammatory cytokines. Because bleomycin (BLM) causes lung injury, which is characterized by an inflammatory response followed by a fibrotic degeneration, we postulated that blocking GSK-3 activity with a specific inhibitor could affect the inflammatory and profibrotic cytokine network generated in the BLM-induced process of pulmonary inflammation and fibrosis. Thus, here we investigated the effects of the GSK-3 inhibitor 3-(2,4-dichlorophenyl)-4-(1-methyl-1H-indol-3-yl)-1H-pyrrole-2,5-dione (SB216763) on a BLM-induced lung fibrosis model in mice. SB216763 prevented lung inflammation and the subsequent fibrosis when coadministered with BLM. Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid analysis of mice treated with BLM plus SB216763 revealed a significant reduction in BLM-induced alveolitis. Furthermore, SB216763 treatment was associated with a significantly lower production of inflammatory cytokines by macrophages. BLM-treated mice that received SB216763 developed alveolar epithelial cell damage and pulmonary fibrosis to a significantly lower extent compared with BLM-treated controls. These findings suggest that GSK-3 inhibition has a protective effect on lung fibrosis induced by BLM and candidate GSK-3 as a potential therapeutic target for preventing pulmonary fibrosis.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Bleomycin
  • Chemokine CCL2 / biosynthesis
  • Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 / antagonists & inhibitors*
  • Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis / chemically induced
  • Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis / drug therapy*
  • Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis / immunology
  • Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis / pathology
  • Indoles / therapeutic use*
  • Lung / drug effects*
  • Lung / immunology
  • Lung / pathology
  • Macrophages / metabolism
  • Maleimides / therapeutic use*
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred C57BL
  • Pneumonia / chemically induced
  • Pneumonia / drug therapy*
  • Pneumonia / immunology
  • Pneumonia / pathology
  • Pulmonary Alveoli / drug effects
  • Pulmonary Alveoli / pathology
  • Respiratory Mucosa / drug effects*
  • Respiratory Mucosa / pathology
  • Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / biosynthesis

Substances

  • Chemokine CCL2
  • Indoles
  • Maleimides
  • SB 216763
  • Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha
  • Bleomycin
  • Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3