Old Drug, New Trick: Tilorone, a Broad-Spectrum Antiviral Drug as a Potential Anti-Fibrotic Therapeutic for the Diseased Heart
Cardiac fibrosis is associated with most forms of cardiovascular disease. No reliable therapies targeting cardiac fibrosis are available, thus identifying novel drugs that can resolve or prevent fibrosis is needed. Tilorone, an antiviral agent, can prevent fibrosis in a mouse model of lung disease....
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-03-01
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| Series: | Pharmaceuticals |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8247/14/3/263 |
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| author | Duncan Horlock David M. Kaye Catherine E. Winbanks Xiao-Ming Gao Helen Kiriazis Daniel G. Donner Paul Gregorevic Julie R. McMullen Bianca C. Bernardo |
| author_facet | Duncan Horlock David M. Kaye Catherine E. Winbanks Xiao-Ming Gao Helen Kiriazis Daniel G. Donner Paul Gregorevic Julie R. McMullen Bianca C. Bernardo |
| author_sort | Duncan Horlock |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Cardiac fibrosis is associated with most forms of cardiovascular disease. No reliable therapies targeting cardiac fibrosis are available, thus identifying novel drugs that can resolve or prevent fibrosis is needed. Tilorone, an antiviral agent, can prevent fibrosis in a mouse model of lung disease. We investigated the anti-fibrotic effects of tilorone in human cardiac fibroblasts in vitro by performing a radioisotopic assay for [<sup>3</sup>H]-proline incorporation as a proxy for collagen synthesis. Exploratory studies in human cardiac fibroblasts treated with tilorone (10 µM) showed a significant reduction in transforming growth factor-β induced collagen synthesis compared to untreated fibroblasts. To determine if this finding could be recapitulated in vivo, mice with established pathological remodelling due to four weeks of transverse aortic constriction (TAC) were administered tilorone (50 mg/kg, i.p) or saline every third day for eight weeks. Treatment with tilorone was associated with attenuation of fibrosis (assessed by Masson’s trichrome stain), a favourable cardiac gene expression profile and no further deterioration of cardiac systolic function determined by echocardiography compared to saline treated TAC mice. These data demonstrate that tilorone has anti-fibrotic actions in human cardiac fibroblasts and the adult mouse heart, and represents a potential novel therapy to treat fibrosis associated with heart failure. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T13:15:04Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-fe215dbd956040ef827924871d80abe7 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1424-8247 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T13:15:04Z |
| publishDate | 2021-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Pharmaceuticals |
| spelling | doaj.art-fe215dbd956040ef827924871d80abe72023-11-21T10:32:02ZengMDPI AGPharmaceuticals1424-82472021-03-0114326310.3390/ph14030263Old Drug, New Trick: Tilorone, a Broad-Spectrum Antiviral Drug as a Potential Anti-Fibrotic Therapeutic for the Diseased HeartDuncan Horlock0David M. Kaye1Catherine E. Winbanks2Xiao-Ming Gao3Helen Kiriazis4Daniel G. Donner5Paul Gregorevic6Julie R. McMullen7Bianca C. Bernardo8Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, Melbourne, VIC 3004, AustraliaBaker Heart and Diabetes Institute, Melbourne, VIC 3004, AustraliaBaker Heart and Diabetes Institute, Melbourne, VIC 3004, AustraliaBaker Heart and Diabetes Institute, Melbourne, VIC 3004, AustraliaBaker Heart and Diabetes Institute, Melbourne, VIC 3004, AustraliaBaker Heart and Diabetes Institute, Melbourne, VIC 3004, AustraliaBaker Heart and Diabetes Institute, Melbourne, VIC 3004, AustraliaBaker Heart and Diabetes Institute, Melbourne, VIC 3004, AustraliaBaker Heart and Diabetes Institute, Melbourne, VIC 3004, AustraliaCardiac fibrosis is associated with most forms of cardiovascular disease. No reliable therapies targeting cardiac fibrosis are available, thus identifying novel drugs that can resolve or prevent fibrosis is needed. Tilorone, an antiviral agent, can prevent fibrosis in a mouse model of lung disease. We investigated the anti-fibrotic effects of tilorone in human cardiac fibroblasts in vitro by performing a radioisotopic assay for [<sup>3</sup>H]-proline incorporation as a proxy for collagen synthesis. Exploratory studies in human cardiac fibroblasts treated with tilorone (10 µM) showed a significant reduction in transforming growth factor-β induced collagen synthesis compared to untreated fibroblasts. To determine if this finding could be recapitulated in vivo, mice with established pathological remodelling due to four weeks of transverse aortic constriction (TAC) were administered tilorone (50 mg/kg, i.p) or saline every third day for eight weeks. Treatment with tilorone was associated with attenuation of fibrosis (assessed by Masson’s trichrome stain), a favourable cardiac gene expression profile and no further deterioration of cardiac systolic function determined by echocardiography compared to saline treated TAC mice. These data demonstrate that tilorone has anti-fibrotic actions in human cardiac fibroblasts and the adult mouse heart, and represents a potential novel therapy to treat fibrosis associated with heart failure.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8247/14/3/263heart failurefibrosistiloronepressure overloadfibroblasttreatment |
| spellingShingle | Duncan Horlock David M. Kaye Catherine E. Winbanks Xiao-Ming Gao Helen Kiriazis Daniel G. Donner Paul Gregorevic Julie R. McMullen Bianca C. Bernardo Old Drug, New Trick: Tilorone, a Broad-Spectrum Antiviral Drug as a Potential Anti-Fibrotic Therapeutic for the Diseased Heart Pharmaceuticals heart failure fibrosis tilorone pressure overload fibroblast treatment |
| title | Old Drug, New Trick: Tilorone, a Broad-Spectrum Antiviral Drug as a Potential Anti-Fibrotic Therapeutic for the Diseased Heart |
| title_full | Old Drug, New Trick: Tilorone, a Broad-Spectrum Antiviral Drug as a Potential Anti-Fibrotic Therapeutic for the Diseased Heart |
| title_fullStr | Old Drug, New Trick: Tilorone, a Broad-Spectrum Antiviral Drug as a Potential Anti-Fibrotic Therapeutic for the Diseased Heart |
| title_full_unstemmed | Old Drug, New Trick: Tilorone, a Broad-Spectrum Antiviral Drug as a Potential Anti-Fibrotic Therapeutic for the Diseased Heart |
| title_short | Old Drug, New Trick: Tilorone, a Broad-Spectrum Antiviral Drug as a Potential Anti-Fibrotic Therapeutic for the Diseased Heart |
| title_sort | old drug new trick tilorone a broad spectrum antiviral drug as a potential anti fibrotic therapeutic for the diseased heart |
| topic | heart failure fibrosis tilorone pressure overload fibroblast treatment |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8247/14/3/263 |
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