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Department of Internal Medicine, Teikyo University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
Phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome 10 (PTEN) is part of a complex signaling system that affects a variety of important cell functions. PTEN antagonizes the action of PI3K by dephosphorylating the signaling lipid phosphatidylinositol 3,4,5-triphosphate. In the present study, we used a TAT fusion protein transduction system to elucidate the role of PTEN in eosinophils and airway inflammation. A small region of the HIV TAT protein (YGRKKRRQRRR), a protein transduction domain known to enter mammalian cells efficiently, was fused to the N terminus of PTEN. Flow cytometric analysis of annexin V- and propidium iodide-stained cells was used to assess eosinophil survival. A chemotaxis assay was performed using a Boyden chamber. Cell analysis in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and histological examinations were performed using OVA-challenged A/J mice. We found that TAT-PTEN was successfully internalized into eosinophils and functioned as a phosphatase in situ. TAT-PTEN, but not a TAT-GFP control protein, blocked the ability of IL-5 to prevent the apoptosis of eosinophils from allergic subjects. The eotaxin-induced eosinophil chemotaxis was inhibited by TAT-PTEN in a dose-dependent manner. Intranasal pretreatment with TAT-PTEN, but not TAT-GFP, significantly inhibited the OVA-induced eosinophil infiltration in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. Histological examination of the lung, including H&E and Alcian blue/periodic acid-Schiff staining, revealed that TAT-PTEN, but not TAT-GFP, abrogated eosinophilic inflammation and mucus production. Our results suggest that PTEN negatively regulates eosinophil survival, chemotaxis, and allergic inflammation. The pharmacological targeting of PTEN may constitute a new strategy for the treatment of eosinophilic disorders.
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1 This work was supported in part by Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research supported by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology and by grants for Scientific Research supported by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.
2 Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. Tetsuya Adachi, Department of Internal Medicine, Teikyo University School of Medicine, 2-11-1, Kaga, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo, Japan. E-mail address: tadachi{at}med.teikyo-u.ac.jp
3 Abbreviations used in this paper: PTEN, phosphatase and tensin homolog on chromosome 10; AB, Alcian blue; BALF, bronchoalveolar lavage fluid; PAS, periodic acid-Schiff; ROCK, Rho-associated coiled-coil-forming protein kinase; VEGF, vascular endothelial growth factor.
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