309. Radiat Res. 2002 Mar;157(3):256-65.
Radiation-induced pulmonary fibrosis: examination of chemokine and chemokine
receptor families.
Johnston CJ(1), Williams JP, Okunieff P, Finkelstein JN.
Author information:
(1)University of Rochester, Department of Pediatrics, Environmental Medicine, and
Radiation Oncology, Rochester, New York 14642, USA.
Fibrosis is a common outcome of chronic inflammation or injury. Pulmonary
fibrosis may be the result of abnormal repair after an acute inflammatory
response. The process of repair initiated by a tissue insult is largely a
function of the activation of cells to produce important biological mediators
such as cytokines, growth factors and chemokines, which orchestrate most aspects
of the inflammatory response. Consequently, altered regulation of the production
of inflammatory cell cytokines and chemokines after injury and repair likely
contributes to the fibrosis. Our hypothesis is that chronic expression of
specific chemokine and chemokine receptors during the fibrotic phase induced by
thoracic irradiation may perpetuate the recruitment and activation of lymphocytes
and macrophages, which may contribute to the development of fibrosis.
Fibrosis-sensitive (C57BL/6) and fibrosis-resistant (C3H/HeJ) mice were
irradiated with a single dose of 12.5 Gy to the thorax. Total lung RNA was
prepared and hybridized using microarray analysis and RNase protection assays. At
26 weeks postirradiation, messages encoding the chemokines BLC (now known as
Scyb13), C10 (now known as Scya6), IP-10 (now known as Scyb10), MCP-1 (now known
as Scya2), MCP-3 (now known as Scya7), MIP-1gamma (now known as Scya9), and
RANTES (now known as Scya5) and the chemokine receptors Ccr1, Ccr2, Ccr5 and Ccr6
were elevated in fibrosis-sensitive (C57BL/6) mice. In contrast, only the
messages encoding SDF-1alpha (now known as Sdf1) and Ccr1 were elevated 26 weeks
postirradiation in fibrosis-resistant (C3H/HeJ) mice. Our results point to the CC
and CCR family members as the predominant chemokine responders during the
development of fibrosis. These studies suggest that monocyte/macrophage and
lymphocyte recruitment and activation are key components of radiation-induced
fibrosis.
PMID: 11839087 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]