The Effects of Aerosolized STAT1 Antisense Oligodeoxynucleotides on Rat Pulmonary Fibrosis

Previous study showed that aerosolized signal transducer and activator of transcription-1 (STAT1) antisense oligodeoxynucleotide (ASON) inhibited the expression of STAT1. and ICAM-1 mRNA and protein in alveolar macrophages (AMs) and decreased the concentrations of TGF-beta, PDGF and TNF-alpha in bronchioalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) in bleomycin (BLM)-induced rat pulmonary fibrosis. Administration of STAT1 ASON ameliorated alveolitis in rat pulmonary fibrosis. However, further investigations are needed to determine whether there is an effect from administration of STAT1 ASON on fibrosis. This study investigated the effect of aerosolized STAT1 ASON on the expressions of inflammatory mediators, hydroxyproline and type I and type III collagen mRNA in BLM-induced rat pulmonary fibrosis. The results showed that STAT1 ASON applied by aerosolization could ameliorate alveolitis and fibrosis, inhibit the expressions of inflammatory mediators, decrease the content of hydroxyproline, and suppress the expressions of type I and type III collagen mRNA in lung tissue in BLM-induced rat pulmonary fibrosis. These results suggest that aerosolized STAT1 ASON might be considered as a promising new strategy in the treatment of pulmonary fibrosis. Cellular & Molecular Immunology. 2009;6(1):51-59.