Chronic inflammatory airway diseases like asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease are major health problems globally. Airway epithelial cells play important role in airway remodeling, which is a critical process in the pathogenesis of diseases. This study aimed to demonstrate that LIGHT, an inflammatory factor secreted by T cells after allergen exposure, is responsible for promoting airway remodeling. LIGHT increased primary human bronchial epithelial cells (HBECs) undergoing epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and expressing MMP-9. The induction of EMT was associated with increased NF-κB activation and p300/NF-κB association. The interaction of NF-κB with p300 facilitated NF-κB acetylation, which in turn, was bound to the promoter of ZEB1, resulting in E-cadherin downregulation. LIGHT also stimulated HBECs to produce numerous cytokines/chemokines that could worsen airway inflammation. Furthermore, LIGHT enhanced HBECs to secrete activin A, which increased bronchial smooth muscle cell (BSMC) migration. In contrast, depletion of activin A decreased such migration. The findings suggest a new molecular determinant of LIGHT-mediated pathogenic changes in HBECs and that the LIGHT-related vicious cycle involving HBECs and BSMCs may be a potential target for the treatment of chronic inflammation airway diseases with airway remodeling.
© 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.