New Insights Into the Regulation of TGF-β/Smad and MPK Signaling Pathway Gene Expression by Nasal Allergen and Methacholine Challenge Test in Asthma.

Abstract BackgroundAsthma is a heterogeneous chronic inflammatory disease of the bronchi, the course of which is significantly influenced by specific and non-specific extrinsic factors. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of these factors on changes in the mRNA expression of genes encoding the TGF-β (TGF-β1 and TGF-β3) - Smad (MPK1/3, Smad1/3/6/7) signaling pathway in asthmatic patients. Methods and ResultsSeventy-five subjects were included in the study, of whom 27 (nine men and 18 women) received an intranasal allergen provocation (specific factors) and 48 (17 men and 31 women) were administered a methacholine provocation (non-specific factors). ConclusionBoth examined types of challenges were found to contribute to changes in the relative expression of genes of the TGF-β (TGF-β1 and TGF-β3) - Smad (MPK1/3, Smad1/3/6/7) signaling pathway in asthmatic patients. A decrease was noted for the MAPK1, MAPK3, Smad3, Smad6 and Smad7 genes, while an increase of up to 2.5 times was observed for the TGF-β1 gene. Our findings suggest that intranasal allergen or bronchial methacholine challenge influences the mRNA expression of the TGF-β1- MPK1/3 and Smad3/6/7 genes.