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Interleukin-20 Promotes Airway Remodeling in Asthma

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Abstract

Previous studies have demonstrated that interleukin-20 (IL-20) is a pro-inflammatory cytokine, and it has been implicated in psoriasis, lupus nephritis, rheumatoid arthritis, atherosclerosis, and ulcerative colitis. Little is known about the effects of IL-20 in airway remodeling in asthma. The aim of our study was to demonstrate the function of IL-20 in airway remodeling in asthma. To identify the expression of IL-20 and its receptor, IL-20R1/IL-20R2, in the airway epithelium in bronchial tissues, bronchial biopsy specimens were collected from patients and mice with asthma and healthy subjects and stained with specific antibodies. To characterize the effects of IL-20 in asthmatic airway remodeling, we silenced and stimulated IL-20 in cell lines isolated from mice by shRNA and recombinant protein approaches, respectively, and detected the expression of α-SMA and FN-1 by Western blot analysis. First, overexpression of IL-20 and its receptor, IL-20R1/IL-20R2, was detected in the airway epithelium collected from patients and mice with asthma. Second, IL-20 increased the expression of fibronectin-1 and α-SMA, and silencing of IL-20 in mouse lung epithelial (MLE)-12 cells decreased the expression of fibronectin-1 and α-SMA. IL-20 may be a critical cytokine in airway remodeling in asthma. This study indicates that targeting IL-20 and/or its receptors may be a new therapeutic strategy for asthma.

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Acknowledgments

This research is supported by the National Nature Science Foundation of China (NSFC) (NSFC for LD, Grant No. 81270072), Natural Science Funding Committee of Shandong Province (SDNSF) (Grant No. ZR2011HM020), and Longhua Medical Project (RC). No potential conflicts of interest were disclosed.

Conflict of Interest

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Respiratory Medicine, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, #107, Wenhua Xi Road, Jinan, 250012, Shandong, People’s Republic of China

    Wenbin Gong, Xin Wang, Jiping Zhao, Junfei Wang, Qian Dong, Tian Liu, Yuanyuan Zhang & Liang Dong

  2. Department of Respiratory Medicine, Jinan Central Hospital Affiliated to Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, China

    Wenbin Gong, Xin Wang & Chunyan Xing

  3. Gaotang County People’s Hospital, Liaocheng, Shandong, China

    Yuguo Zhang, Junqing Hao & Qi Chu

  4. Department of Geriatrics, Taian Central Hospital, Taian, Shandong, China

    Guicheng Wang

Authors
  1. Wenbin Gong
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  2. Xin Wang
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  3. Yuguo Zhang
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  4. Junqing Hao
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  5. Chunyan Xing
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  6. Qi Chu
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  7. Guicheng Wang
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  8. Jiping Zhao
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  9. Junfei Wang
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  10. Qian Dong
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  11. Tian Liu
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  12. Yuanyuan Zhang
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  13. Liang Dong
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Liang Dong.

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Wenbin Gong and Xin Wang are co-first authors.

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Gong, W., Wang, X., Zhang, Y. et al. Interleukin-20 Promotes Airway Remodeling in Asthma. Inflammation 37, 2099–2105 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10753-014-9944-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10753-014-9944-8

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