72 MAST CELLS AND EOSINOPHILS STIMULATE MYOFIBROBLAST DIFFERENTIATION BY SIGNALING THROUGH THE TRANSFORMING GROWTH FACTOR b TYPE I (ALK5) RECEPTOR

Rationale Mast cells and eosinophils synthesize various mediators, including transforming growth factor b (TGF-b) and cysteinyl leukotrienes (cysLTs), that may promote subepithelial fibrosis in asthma. We sought to determine the roles of TGF-b and cysLTs in myofibroblast differentiation stimulated by coculture of fibroblasts with mast cells or eosinophils. Methods IMR-90 human lung fibroblasts were serum starved and cocultured for 48 hours with either LAD-2 human mast cells or freshly isolated human blood eosinophils in the absence or presence of SB431542 (10 M) to block signaling through the TGF-b type I (ALK5) receptor; MK886 (1 M) to block leukotriene synthesis; MK571 (100 nM) to block the cysLT1 receptor; or Bay u9773 (3 M) to block the cysLT1 and cysLT2 receptors. a-Smooth muscle actin (a-SMA) expression was assessed as an index of myofibroblast differentiation. Results Mast cells and eosinophils stimulated 2.50.2 (n = 5, p Funded by NIH R01HL072891, Crane Asthma Center of Northwestern University.