Ann Surg

. 2022 Aug 3.

 doi: 10.1097/SLA.0000000000005656. Online ahead of print. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35920560/

Proteomic Profiling of Hypoplastic Lungs Suggests an Underlying Inflammatory Response in the Pathogenesis of Abnormal Lung Development in Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia

Richard Wagner ^1 2 3 4, Paula Lieckfeldt ^1 2 3 4, Hadeesha Piyadasa ^3 5 6, Moritz Markel ^1 2 3 4, Jan Riedel ⁴, Camelia Stefanovici ⁷, Nicole Peukert ⁴, Daywin Patel ^1 2 3, Gabrielle Derraugh ¹, Suyin Lum Min ¹, Jan-Hendrik Gosemann ⁴, Jan Deprest ⁸, Christopher D Pascoe ^2 3, Andrew Tse ^1 2 3, Martin Lacher ⁴, Neeloffer Mookherjee ^3 5 6, Richard Keijzer ^1 2 3

Affiliations expand

• PMID: 35920560
• DOI: 10.1097/SLA.0000000000005656

Abstract

The pathogenesis of lung hypoplasia in congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH), a common birth defect, is poorly understood. The diaphragmatic defect can be repaired surgically, but the abnormal lung development contributes to a high mortality in these patients. To understand the underlying pathobiology, we compared the proteomic profiles of fetal rat lungs at the alveolar stage (E21) that were either exposed to nitrofen in utero (CDH lungs, n=5) or exposed to vehicle only (non-CDH control lungs, n=5). Pathway analysis of proteomic datasets showed significant enrichment in inflammatory response proteins associated with cytokine signaling and Epstein Barr Virus in nitrofen CDH lungs. Amongst the 218 significantly altered proteins between CDH and non-CDH control lungs were Tenascin C, CREBBP, LYN and STAT3. We showed that Tenascin C was decreased around the distal airway branches in nitrofen rat lungs and human CDH lungs, obtained from stillborn fetuses that did not receive pre- or postnatal treatment. In contrast, STAT3 was significantly increased in the airway epithelium of nitrofen lungs at E21. STAT3 inhibition after direct nitrofen exposure to fetal rat lung explants (E14.5) partially rescued the hypoplastic lung phenotype ex vivo by increasing peripheral lung budding. Moreover, we demonstrated that several STAT3 associated cytokines (IL-15, IL-9, IL-2) are increased in fetal tracheal aspirates of CDH survivors compared to non-survivors after fetoscopic endoluminal tracheal occlusion. With our unbiased proteomics approach, we showed for the first time that downstream inflammatory processes are likely involved in the pathogenesis of abnormal lung development in CDH.

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