batimastat and Fibrosis

To investigate the efficacy of locally applied batimastat after laminectomy in preventing postoperative epidural fibrosis.. Thirty-two Wistar albino male rats weighing 200?250 g were used. The rats were assigned to four different groups (I-Control group, II-sham group, III-Laminectomy+Batimastat group, and IV-Laminectomy+SpongostanTM group). The rats were euthanized 28 days after surgery before TNF-?, IL6, IL-1?, IL10, TGF-?1, and MMP9 gene expression levels of tissue in the surgical area were determined with qPCR. TNF-?, IL6, and IL10 protein levels were also measured in both tissue and plasma. In addition, the surgical area was evaluated by histopathological and immunohistochemical methods.. TNF-?, IL6, and IL-1? gene expression levels were higher in the batimastat group than in the control group. Whereas IL10 gene expression levels increased about two-fold in the sham and SpongostanTM groups, in the batimastat group, it was similar to that in the control group. TGF-?1 gene expression was three-fold higher in the sham group but was similar to that in the control group in both batimastat and SpongostanTM groups. MMP9 gene expression levels significantly decreased only in the batimastat group. In addition, fibrosis score, fibroblast cell count, inflammatory cell count, and CD105 expression decreased in the batimastat group relative to the control.. Molecular and pathological examination results suggested that batimastat is an effective agent in reducing the occurrence of epidural fibrosis after laminectomy.

Topics: Animals; Epidural Space; Fibrosis; Interleukin-1; Interleukin-10; Interleukin-6; Laminectomy; Matrix Metalloproteinase 9; Matrix Metalloproteinase Inhibitors; Rats; Rats, Wistar

Muscle loss due to fibrotic or adipogenic replacement of myofibers is common in muscle diseases and muscle-resident fibro/adipogenic precursors (FAPs) are implicated in this process. While FAP-mediated muscle fibrosis is widely studied in muscle diseases, the role of FAPs in adipogenic muscle loss is not well understood. Adipogenic muscle loss is a feature of limb girdle muscular dystrophy 2B (LGMD2B) - a disease caused by mutations in dysferlin. Here we show that FAPs cause the adipogenic loss of dysferlin deficient muscle. Progressive accumulation of Annexin A2 (AnxA2) in the myofiber matrix causes FAP differentiation into adipocytes. Lack of AnxA2 prevents FAP adipogenesis, protecting against adipogenic loss of dysferlinopathic muscle while exogenous AnxA2 enhances muscle loss. Pharmacological inhibition of FAP adipogenesis arrests adipogenic replacement and degeneration of dysferlin-deficient muscle. These results demonstrate the pathogenic role of FAPs in LGMD2B and establish these cells as therapeutic targets to ameliorate muscle loss in patients.

Topics: Adipocytes; Adipogenesis; Adipose Tissue; Adolescent; Age of Onset; Animals; Annexin A2; Case-Control Studies; Dysferlin; Elapid Venoms; Female; Fibrosis; Humans; In Vitro Techniques; Male; Mice; Muscle Fibers, Skeletal; Muscle, Skeletal; Muscular Dystrophies, Limb-Girdle; Phenylalanine; Protease Inhibitors; Severity of Illness Index; Stem Cells; Thiophenes; Young Adult

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), caused by mutations in the dystrophin gene, involves severe muscle degeneration, inflammation, fibrosis, and early death in afflicted boys. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are extracellular proteases that cause tissue degradation in several disease states. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that the expression levels of various MMPs are abnormally increased and that their inhibition will ameliorate muscle pathogenesis in animal models of DMD. Our results show that the transcript levels of several MMPs are significantly up-regulated, whereas tissue inhibitors of MMPs are down-regulated, in dystrophic muscle of mdx mice. Chronic administration of batimastat (BB-94), a broad spectrum peptide inhibitor of MMPs, reduced necrosis, infiltration of macrophages, centronucleated fibers, and the expression of embryonic myosin heavy chain in skeletal muscle of mdx mice. Batimastat also reduced the expression of several inflammatory molecules and augmented the levels of sarcolemmal protein beta-dystroglycan and neuronal nitric oxide in mdx mice. In addition, muscle force production in isometric contraction was increased in batimastat-treated mdx mice compared with those treated with vehicle alone. Furthermore, inhibition of MMPs using batimastat reduced the activation of mitogen-activated protein kinases and activator protein-1 in myofibers of mdx mice. Our study provides the novel evidence that the expression of MMPs is atypically increased in DMD, that their inhibition ameliorates pathogenesis, and that batimastat could prove to be a significant candidate for DMD therapy.

Topics: Animals; Disease Models, Animal; Dystrophin; Fibrosis; Gene Expression Regulation; Humans; Inflammation; Male; Matrix Metalloproteinase Inhibitors; Matrix Metalloproteinases; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Mice, Inbred mdx; Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases; Molecular Sequence Data; Muscle, Skeletal; Muscular Dystrophy, Duchenne; Phenylalanine; Protease Inhibitors; Thiophenes; Transcription Factor AP-1