1. PDE4B inhibition by nerandomilast: Effects on lung fibrosis and transcriptome in fibrotic rats and on biomarkers in human lung epithelial cells.
- Author
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Reininger D, Fundel-Clemens K, Mayr CH, Wollin L, Laemmle B, Quast K, Nickolaus P, and Herrmann FE
- Abstract
Background and Purpose: The PDE4 family is considered a prime target for therapeutic intervention in several fibro-inflammatory diseases. We have investigated the molecular mechanisms of nerandomilast (BI 1015550), a preferential PDE4B inhibitor., Experimental Approach: In addition to clinically relevant parameters of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF; lung function measurement/high-resolution computed tomography scan/AI-Ashcroft score), whole-lung homogenates from a therapeutic male Wistar rat model of pulmonary fibrosis were analysed by next-generation sequencing (NGS). Data were matched with public domain data derived from human IPF samples to investigate how well the rat model reflected human IPF. We scored the top counter-regulated genes following treatment with nerandomilast in human single cells and validated disease markers discovered in the rat model using a human disease-relevant in vitro assay of IPF., Key Results: Nerandomilast improved the decline of lung function parameters in bleomycin-treated animals. In the NGS study, most transcripts deregulated by bleomycin treatment were normalised by nerandomilast treatment. Most notably, a significant number of deregulated transcripts that were identified in human IPF disease were also found in the animal model and reversed by nerandomilast. Mapping to single-cell data revealed the strongest effects on mesenchymal, epithelial and endothelial cell populations. In a primary human epithelial cell culture system, several disease-related (bio)markers were inhibited by nerandomilast in a concentration-dependent manner., Conclusions and Implications: This study further supports the available knowledge about the anti-inflammatory/antifibrotic mechanisms of nerandomilast and provides novel insights into the mode of action and signalling pathways influenced by nerandomilast treatment of lung fibrosis., (© 2024 Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co. KG. British Journal of Pharmacology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Pharmacological Society.)
- Published
- 2024
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