Many mutations confer upon copper/zinc superoxide dismutase-1 (SOD1) one or more toxic function(s) that impair motor neuron viability and cause familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (FALS). Using a conformation-specific antibody that detects misfolded SOD1 (C4F6), we demonstrate that oxidized WT-SOD1 and mutant-SOD1 share a conformational epitope that is not present in normal WT-SOD1. In a subset of human sporadic ALS (SALS) cases, motor neurons in the lumbosacral spinal cord displayed striking C4F6 immunoreactivity, denoting the presence of aberrant WT-SOD1 species. Recombinant, oxidized WT-SOD1 and WT-SOD1 immunopurified from SALS tissues inhibited kinesin-based fast axonal transport in a manner similar to FALS-linked mutant SOD1. Studies here suggest that WT-SOD1 can be pathogenic in SALS and identifies an SOD1-dependent pathogenic mechanism common to FALS and SALS.

Sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) is a key endogenous regulator of the response to lung injury, maintaining endothelial barrier integrity through interaction with one of its receptors, S1P 1 . The short-term administration of S1P or S1P 1 receptor agonists enhances endothelial monolayer barrier function in vitro, and attenuates injuryinduced vascular leak in the lung and other organ systems in vivo. Although S1P 1 agonists bind to and activate S1P 1 , several of these agents also induce receptor internalization and degradation, and may therefore act as functional antagonists of S1P 1 after extended exposure. Here we report on the effects of prolonged exposure to these agents in bleomycin-induced lung injury. We demonstrate that repeated administration of S1P 1 agonists dramatically worsened lung injury after bleomycin challenge, as manifested by increased vascular leak and mortality. Consistent with these results, prolonged exposure to S1P 1 agonists in vitro eliminated the ability of endothelial cell monolayers to respond appropriately to the barrier-protective effects of S1P, indicating a loss of normal S1P-S1P 1 signaling. As bleomycin-induced lung injury progressed, continued exposure to S1P 1 agonists also resulted in increased pulmonary fibrosis. These data indicate that S1P 1 agonists can act as functional antagonists of S1P 1 on endothelial cells in vivo, which should be considered in developing these agents as therapies for vascular leak syndromes. Our findings also support the hypothesis that vascular leak is an important component of the fibrogenic response to lung injury, and suggest that targeting the S1P-S1P 1 pathway may also be an effective therapeutic strategy for fibrotic lung diseases.

Objective Enhanced adhesive signaling including activation of the focal adhesion kinase (FAK) is a hallmark of fibroblasts from lung fibrosis patients, and FAK has been therefore hypothesized to be a key mediator of this disease. This study was undertaken to characterize the contribution of FAK to the development of pulmonary fibrosis both in vivo and in vitro. Methods FAK expression and activity were analyzed in lung tissue samples from lung fibrosis patients by immunohistochemistry. Mice orally treated with the FAK inhibitor, PF-562,271, or with siRNA-mediated silencing of FAK, were exposed to intratracheally instilled bleomycin to induce lung fibrosis, and the lungs were harvested for histological and biochemical analysis. Using endothelin-1 (ET-1) as stimulus, cell adhesion and contraction, as well as profibrotic gene expression were studied in fibroblasts isolated from wild type and FAK-deficient mouse embryos. ET-1-mediated FAK activation and gene expression were studied in primary mouse lung fibroblasts, as well as in wild type and integrin β1-deficient fibroblasts. Results Increased FAK expression and activity are upregulated in fibroblast foci and remodeled vessels in lung fibrosis patients. Pharmacological or siRNA-mediated targeting of FAK resulted in marked abrogation of bleomycin-induced lung fibrosis. Loss of FAK impaired the acquisition of a profibrotic phenotype in response to ET-1. Profibrotic gene expression leading to myofibroblast differentiation required cell adhesion, and was driven by Jun N-terminal kinase activation through integrin β1/FAK signaling. Conclusion These results implicate FAK as a central mediator of fibrogenesis, and highlight this kinase as a potential therapeutic target in fibrotic diseases.

Lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) is an important mediator of pulmonary fibrosis. In blood and multiple tumor types, autotaxin produces LPA from lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC) via lysophospholipase D activity, but alternative enzymatic pathways also exist for LPA production. We examined the role of autotaxin (ATX) in pulmonary LPA production during fibrogenesis in a bleomycin mouse model. We found that bleomycin injury increases the bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid levels of ATX protein 17-fold. However, the LPA and LPC species that increase in BAL of bleomycin-injured mice were discordant, inconsistent with a substrate-product relationship between LPC and LPA in pulmonary fibrosis. LPA species with longer chain polyunsaturated acyl groups predominated in BAL fluid after bleomycin injury, with 22:5 and 22:6 species accounting for 55 and 16% of the total, whereas the predominant BAL LPC species contained shorter chain, saturated acyl groups, with 16:0 and 18:0 species accounting for 56 and 14% of the total. Further, administration of the potent ATX inhibitor PAT-048 to bleomycinchallenged mice markedly decreased ATX activity systemically and in the lung, without effect on pulmonary LPA or fibrosis. Therefore, alternative ATX-independent pathways are likely responsible for local generation of LPA in the injured lung. These pathways will require identification to therapeutically target LPA production in pulmonary