Version 1
: Received: 10 March 2024 / Approved: 11 March 2024 / Online: 11 March 2024 (18:08:23 CET)
How to cite:
Weathers, P.J.; Towler, M.J.; Kiani, B.H.; Dolivo, D.; Dominko, T. Differential Anti-Fibrotic and Remodeling Responses of Human Dermal Fibroblasts to Artemisia sp., artemisinin, and its Derivatives. Preprints2024, 2024030640. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202403.0640.v1
Weathers, P.J.; Towler, M.J.; Kiani, B.H.; Dolivo, D.; Dominko, T. Differential Anti-Fibrotic and Remodeling Responses of Human Dermal Fibroblasts to Artemisia sp., artemisinin, and its Derivatives. Preprints 2024, 2024030640. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202403.0640.v1
Weathers, P.J.; Towler, M.J.; Kiani, B.H.; Dolivo, D.; Dominko, T. Differential Anti-Fibrotic and Remodeling Responses of Human Dermal Fibroblasts to Artemisia sp., artemisinin, and its Derivatives. Preprints2024, 2024030640. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202403.0640.v1
APA Style
Weathers, P.J., Towler, M.J., Kiani, B.H., Dolivo, D., & Dominko, T. (2024). Differential Anti-Fibrotic and Remodeling Responses of Human Dermal Fibroblasts to Artemisia sp., artemisinin, and its Derivatives. Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202403.0640.v1
Chicago/Turabian Style
Weathers, P.J., David Dolivo and Tanja Dominko. 2024 "Differential Anti-Fibrotic and Remodeling Responses of Human Dermal Fibroblasts to Artemisia sp., artemisinin, and its Derivatives" Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202403.0640.v1
Abstract
Fibrosis is a ubiquitous pathology, and prior studies have indicated that various artemisinin (ART) derivatives (including artesunate (AS), artemether (AM), and dihydroartemisinin (DHA)) can reduce fibrosis in vitro and in vivo. The medicinal plant, Artemisia annua L., is the natural source of ART and is widely used, especially in underdeveloped countries, to treat a variety of diseases including malaria, while A. afra contains no ART but is also antimalarial. Using human dermal fibroblasts (CRL-2097), we compared the effects of A. annua and A. afra tea infusions, ART, AS, AM, DHA, and a liver metabolite of ART, deoxyART (dART), on fibroblast viability and expression of key fibrotic marker genes after 1 and 4 days of treatment. AS, DHA, and Artemisia tea significantly reduced fibroblast viability at 1 and 4 d post-treatment. After 4 d post treatment, AS, DHA, and A. afra tea downregulated ACTA2, and upregulated MMP3, with other genes either being unaffected or differentially affected. ART and AM had no significant effect on either fibroblast viability or fibrotic gene expression. Although A. annua contains ART, it had a significantly greater anti-fibrotic effect than ART alone. Immunofluorescent staining for smooth muscle α-actin (α-SMA) correlated well with transcriptional responses of drug-treated fibroblasts. Together, proliferation, qPCR, and immunofluorescence results show that treatment with ART, AS, DHA, and the two Artemisia teas yield differing responses, including those related to fibrosis, in human dermal fibroblasts.
Biology and Life Sciences, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
