The Copper Chelator Tetrathiomolybdate Regressed Bleomycin-induced Pulmonary Fibrosis in Mice, by Reducing Lysyl Oxidase Expressions

Pulmonary fibrosis (PF) is characterized by an increase in the number of fibroblasts and an accumulation of collagen fibers in the extracellular matrix (ECM). The members of the copper-dependent lysyl oxidase (LOX) enzyme family regulate the collagen accumulation in the ECM. Tetrathiomolybdate (TM) is a copper chelator. The present study reported the effect of TM on the expression of LOX proteins (LOX, LOXL1, and LOXL2), collagen digestion enzymes (MMP2 and MMP8), and TIMP1 (a collagenase inhibitor) in PF. The PF in mice was induced by intratracheal bleomycin instillation. Adult mice were divided into four groups: mice dissected after 21 days of the first bleomycin (0.08 mg/kg, single dose) treatment (I) and their controls (II), and mice treated with TM for 1 week (1.2 mg/day/mice for the first 4 days and 0.9 mg/day/mice for the last 3 days) after 14 days of the first bleomycin instillation and dissected in the 21st day of the experiment (III) and their controls (IV). Mice in groups III and IV were fed a low-copper (2 mg/kg) diet during the last 7 days of the experiment. The fibrosis score in the lung was determined under a microscope. The expressions of collagen-I, LOX, MMP, and TIMP1 proteins were analyzed by Western blotting in the lung. Mice lungs with fibrosis were characterized by an overexpression of collagen-I, LOX, MMP, and TIMP1 proteins in addition to an accumulation of collagen fibers. TM treatments significantly regressed the overexpression of these proteins in the fibrotic mice lung. In conclusion, TM treatments can be used for the regression of PF, by decreasing collagen-I protein expression and accumulation.