ABSTRACT
Sulfur mustard (SM) is a blister-forming agent and can cause damages in various momentous human organs. Previous studies have demonstrated that chemical and mechanical injuries of epithelial cells cause to give rise the secretion of TGF-ß1 and TGF-ß2. These cytokines play a key role in respiratory remodeling due to SM. In this study, we investigated the impact of SM on the expression level of TGF-ß isoforms and their receptors in vitro using reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction and western blotting. Our finding revealed the significant increase at concentrations of 25 µl/ml SM for 30 min and 60 min and also 100 µl/ml for 60 min for TGF-ß1, 25, 50 and 100 µl/ml SM for 30 min for TGF-ßr1 and after exposing with 100 µl/ml SM for both 30 and 60 min for TGF-ß2 (p < 0.05). Data from western blotting showed the increase of TGF-ß1 expression at the level of protein as the same pattern as the mRNA level. In vitro short-time exposure of fibroblast to SM can induce the expression of TGF-ß1, TGF-ß2 and TGF-ßR1 denoting that over-expression of TGF-ß isoforms and their receptors leads to differentiation and collagen production, causing in airway remodeling and fibrosis.
