Tetraethylthiuram disulphide alleviates pulmonary fibrosis through modulating transforming growth factor-β signalling.

Pharmacol Res

Engineering Research Center of Cell & Therapeutic Antibody, Ministry of Education, Pharm-X Center, School of Pharmacy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, PR China; Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Translational Cancer Research, Bengbu Medical College, Bengbu, Anhui Province, 233003, PR China. Electronic address:

Published: December 2021

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) induces significant morbidity and mortality, for which there are limited therapeutic options available. Here, we found that tetraethylthiuram disulphide (disulfiram, DSF), a derivative of thiuram, used in the treatment of alcohol abuse, has an inhibitory effect on bleomycin (BLM)-induced pulmonary fibrosis via the attenuation of the fibroblast-to-myofibroblast transition, migration, and proliferation of fibroblasts. Furthermore, DSF inhibited the activation of primary pulmonary fibroblasts and fibroblast cell line under transforming growth factor-β 1 (TGF-β1) challenge. Mechanistically, the anti-fibrotic effect of DSF on fibroblasts depends on the inhibition of TGF-β signalling. We further determined that DSF interrupts the interaction between SMAD3 and TGF-β receptor Ι (TBR Ι), and identified that DSF directly binds with SMAD3, in which Trp326, Thr330, and Cys332 of SMAD3 are critical binding sites for DSF. Collectively, our results reveal a powerful anti-fibrotic function of DSF in pulmonary fibrosis through the inhibition of TGF-β/SMAD signalling in pulmonary fibroblasts, indicating that DSF is a promising therapeutic candidate for IPF.

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Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.phrs.2021.105923DOI Listing

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