Abstract

Fibroblasts, in particular myofibroblasts, are the critical effector cells in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), a deadly lung disease characterized by abnormal lung remodeling and the formation of “fibroblastic foci”. Aberrant activation of TGF- β 1 is frequently encountered and promotes fibroblast proliferation, activation, and differentiation in pulmonary fibrosis. Hence, the inhibition of TGF- β 1-induced lung fibroblast activation holds promise as a therapeutic strategy for IPF. The present study aimed to investigate the potential effect and underlying mechanisms of bone morphogenetic protein 4 (BMP4) on TGF- β 1-induced proliferation, apoptosis, activation and myofibroblast differentiation of adult lung fibroblasts. Here, we demonstrated that BMP4 expression was significantly decreased in TGF- β 1-stimulated mouse primary lung fibroblasts (PLFs). BMP4 inhibited proliferation and apoptosis resistance of TGF- β 1-stimulated mouse PLFs. BMP4 suppressed TGF- β 1-induced fibroblast activation and differentiation in mouse PLFs. We also found that BMP4 inhibited TGF- β 1-induced ERK and p38 MAPK phosphorylation. Our findings indicate that BMP4 exerts its anti-fibrotic effects by regulating fibroblast proliferation, apoptosis, activation and differentiation via the inhibition of the ERK/p38 MAPK signaling pathway, and thus has a potential for the treatment of pulmonary fibrosis.