GED-0507 attenuates lung fibrosis by counteracting myofibroblast transdifferentiation in vivo and in vitro

PLoS One. 2021 Sep 16;16(9):e0257281. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0257281. eCollection 2021.

Abstract

The development of more effective, better tolerated drug treatments for progressive pulmonary fibrosis (of which idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis is the most common and severe form) is a research priority. The peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPAR-γ) is a key regulator of inflammation and fibrosis and therefore represents a potential therapeutic target. However, the use of synthetic PPAR-γ agonists may be limited by their potentially severe adverse effects. In a mouse model of bleomycin (BLM)-induced pulmonary fibrosis, we have demonstrated that the non-racemic selective PPAR-γ modulator GED-0507 is able to reduce body weight loss, ameliorate clinical and histological features of pulmonary fibrosis, and increase survival rate without any safety concerns. Here, we focused on the biomolecular effects of GED-0507 on various inflammatory/fibrotic pathways. We demonstrated that preventive and therapeutic administration of GED-0507 reduced the BLM-induced mRNA expression of several markers of fibrosis, including transforming growth factor (TGF)-β, alpha-smooth muscle actin, collagen and fibronectin as well as epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and expression of mucin 5B. The beneficial effect of GED-0507 on pulmonary fibrosis was confirmed in vitro by its ability to control TGFβ-induced myofibroblast activation in the A549 human alveolar epithelial cell line, the MRC-5 lung fibroblast line, and primary human lung fibroblasts. Compared with the US Food and Drug Administration-approved antifibrotic drugs pirfenidone and nintedanib, GED-0507 displayed greater antifibrotic activity by controlling alveolar epithelial cell dysfunction, EMT, and extracellular matrix remodeling. In conclusion, GED-0507 demonstrated potent antifibrotic properties and might be a promising drug candidate for the treatment of pulmonary fibrosis.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • A549 Cells
  • Animals
  • Bleomycin
  • Cell Line
  • Cell Survival / drug effects
  • Cell Transdifferentiation*
  • Humans
  • In Vitro Techniques
  • Inflammation
  • Lung / drug effects
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred C57BL
  • Myofibroblasts / cytology*
  • PPAR gamma / metabolism
  • Propionates / pharmacology*
  • Pulmonary Fibrosis / drug therapy*
  • Pulmonary Fibrosis / physiopathology
  • Treatment Outcome

Substances

  • GED-0507
  • PPAR gamma
  • PPARG protein, human
  • Propionates
  • Bleomycin

Grants and funding

PS serves as consultant for PPM Services S.A. Morbio Inferiore, a Swiss affiliate of Nogra Pharma Ltd http://www.nographarma.com/). Intestinal Biotech Development (IBD) provided support in the form of salaries for authors CD and CR. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. The specific roles of these authors are articulated in the ‘author contributions’ section'