Resistance of fibrogenic responses to glucocorticoid and 2-methoxyestradiol in bleomycin-induced lung fibrosis in mice

Abstract

Bleomycin-induced lung fibrosis in mice reproduces some key features of pulmonary fibrosis in humans including alveolar inflammation, myofibroblast proliferation, and collagen deposition. Glucocorticoids have been used as first-line therapy for the treatment of lung fibrosis, although their clinical efficacy is equivocal. We examined the effect of the glucocorticoid, methylprednisolone (MP), and the estrogen metabolite, 2-methoxyestradiol (2MEO) on bleomycin-induced bronchoalveolar inflammation, fibrosis, and changes in lung function. The characterization of the time-course of the bleomycin-induced fibrosis indicated that lung dry mass and hydroxyproline content showed less variance than his..