Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0034069 (pulmonary fibrosis)
 7,050 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Imatinib mesylate is a potent and specific tyrosine kinase inhibitor against c-ABL, BCR-ABL, and c-KIT, and has been demonstrated to be highly active in chronic myeloid leukemia and gastrointestinal stromal tumors. We examined the antifibrotic effects of imatinib using a bleomycin-induced lung fibrosis model in mice because imatinib also inhibits tyrosine kinase of platelet-derived growth factor receptors (PDGFRs). Imatinib inhibited the growth of primary murine lung fibroblasts and the autophosphorylation of PDGFR-beta induced by PDGF. Administration of imatinib significantly prevented bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis in mice, partly by reducing the number of mesenchymal cells incorporating bromodeoxyuridine. Analysis of bronchoalveolar lavage cells demonstrated that imatinib did not suppress early inflammation on Days 7 and 14 caused by bleomycin. These results suggest that imatinib has the potential to prevent pulmonary fibrosis by inhibiting the proliferation of mesenchymal cells, and that imatinib might be useful for the treatment of pulmonary fibrosis in humans.
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PMID:Imatinib as a novel antifibrotic agent in bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis in mice. 1573 62

Profibrogeneic cytokines contribute to the accumulation of myofibroblasts in the lung interstitium in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). Imatinib mesylate, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor specific for Abl, platelet-derived growth factor receptor (PDGFR) and c-Kit tyrosine kinases, has been shown to inhibit fibrosis and profibrotic signaling in mouse models of inflammation-mediated lung reactions. The authors tested imatinib mesylate in vivo in a mouse model of crocidolite asbestos-induced progressive fibrosis. The ability of imatinib mesylate to inhibit profibrogeneic cytokine-induced human pulmonary fibroblast migration was tested in vitro and the expression of its target protein tyrosine kinases was assessed with immunofluorescence. In vivo, 10 mg/kg/day imatinib mesylate inhibited histological parenchymal fibrosis and led to a decrease in collagen deposition, but had no significant effect on asbestos-induced neutrophilia. However, 50 mg/kg/day imatinib mesylate did not inhibit collagen deposition. In vitro, IPF fibroblasts expressed Abl, PDGFR-alpha, PDGF-beta, but not c-Kit, and 1 microM imatinib mesylate inhibited profibrogeneic cytokine-induced IPF fibroblast migration. These results suggest that imatinib mesylate is a potential and specific inhibitor of fibroblast accumulation in asbestos-induced pulmonary fibrosis.
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PMID:Imatinib mesylate inhibits fibrogenesis in asbestos-induced interstitial pneumonia. 1784 62

Pulmonary fibrosis is a disease characterized by progressive scarring of the lungs, with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) being the most aggressive form. The diagnosis of IPF is made after other conditions are excluded and is based on a characteristic clinical presentation, radiographic features and, sometimes, pathologic specimen. Existing IPF drug regimens, including corticosteroids and cytotoxic medications, are generally ineffective. To date, only lung transplantation has been shown to improve mortality in carefully selected patients. Multiple therapeutic agents have been investigated but none have proven to be successful. Novel drugs are constantly being sought in an attempt to find a therapy that halts or reverses this disease. Imatinib mesylate is used for chronic myelogenous leukemia and gastrointestinal stromal tumors. It also has antifibrotic properties, as demonstrated in several studies using mouse models of pulmonary fibrosis. Currently, trials are underway to investigate its efficacy in human subjects with IPF.
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PMID:Potential of imatinib mesylate as a novel treatment for pulmonary fibrosis. 2047 6