Evidence map›Paper›PMID 27716397›Full record

ArticleArthritis research & therapy2016

A20 suppresses canonical Smad-dependent fibroblast activation: novel function for an endogenous inflammatory modulator.

Swati Bhattacharyya, Wenxia Wang, Lauren Van Duyn Graham, John Varga

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Arthritis research & therapy, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
17citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
2.9field-weighted citation impact, top 9% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

17 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 36 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Transethnic meta-analysis identifiesAnnals of the rheumatic diseases · 2017
    Pooled it
  2. Systemic Sclerosis in Kazakh Patients: A Preliminary Case-Control Immunogenetic Profiling Study.Pathophysiology : the official journal of the International Society for Pathophysiology · 2025
    Article
  3. Article
  4. LPANano research · 2024
    Article
  5. Review
  6. Article
  7. A20 Attenuates the Fibrotic Response in the Trabecular Meshwork.International journal of molecular sciences · 2022
    Article
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. Updates on genetics in systemic sclerosis.Inflammation and regeneration · 2021
    Review
  12. Review
  13. Role of adipokines in systemic sclerosis pathogenesis.European journal of rheumatology · 2020
    Review
  14. Article
  15. Review
  16. Review
  17. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Swati BhattacharyyaDepartment of Medicine, Division of Rheumatology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, McGaw M230, 240 E Huron Street, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA. s-bhattacharyya@northwestern.edu.
Wenxia WangDepartment of Medicine, Division of Rheumatology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, McGaw M230, 240 E Huron Street, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA.
Lauren Van Duyn GrahamDepartment of Dermatology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, GALTER 676 N St Clair St Suite 1600 CH HNMH, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA.
John VargaDepartment of Medicine, Division of Rheumatology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, McGaw M230, 240 E Huron Street, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA. j-varga@northwestern.edu.
Northwestern University · US

Funding

REGULATION OF COLLAGEN GENE EXPRESSION BY TGF-BETAR01AR042309 · NIAMS · UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT CHICAGO · PI VARGA, JOHN · 1994 to 2014
$4.4M
Post Graduate Program in Cutaneous BiologyT32AR060710 · NIAMS · NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY AT CHICAGO · PI Amy S Paller · 2012 to 2026
$2.4M
Aberrant TLR responses driving organ fibrosis in systemic sclerosisR56AR042309 · NIAMS · NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY AT CHICAGO · PI VARGA, JOHN · 2018 to 2018
$477k
Targeting Adiponectin Signaling: Novel Peptide Therapy for SclerodermaR21AR064925 · NIAMS · NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY AT CHICAGO · PI VARGA, JOHN · 2013 to 2014
$372k
NIAMS NIH HHS R01 AR042309NIAMS NIH HHS R21 AR064925NIAMS NIH HHS R56 AR042309NIAMS NIH HHS T32 AR060710
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe ubiquitin-editing cytosolic enzyme A20, the major negative regulator of toll-like receptor (TLR)-mediated cellular inflammatory responses, has tight genetic linkage with systemic sclerosis (SSc). Because recent studies implicate endogenous ligand-driven TLR signaling in SSc pathogenesis, we sought to investigate the regulation, role and mechanism of action of A20 in skin fibroblasts.

methodA20 expression and the effects of forced A20 expression or siRNA-mediated A20 knockdown on fibrotic responses induced by transforming growth factor-ß (TGF-ß) were evaluated was evaluated in explanted human skin fibroblasts. Additionally, A20 regulation by TGF-ß, and by adiponectin, a pleiotropic adipokine with anti-fibrotic activity, was evaluated.

resultsIn normal fibroblasts, TGF-ß induced sustained downregulation of A20, and abrogated its TLR4-dependent induction. Forced expression of A20 aborted the stimulation of collagen gene expression and myofibroblast transformation induced by TGF-ß, and disrupted canonical Smad signaling and Smad-dependent transcriptional responses. Conversely, siRNA-mediated knockdown of A20 enhanced the amplitude of fibrotic responses elicited by TGF-ß. Adiponectin, previously shown to block TLR-dependent fibrotic responses, elicited rapid and sustained increase in A20 accumulation in fibroblasts.

conclusionThese results identify the ubiquitin-editing enzyme A20 as a novel endogenous mechanism for negative regulation of fibrotic response intensity. Systemic sclerosis-associated genetic variants of A20 that cause impaired A20 expression or function, combined with direct suppression of A20 by TGF-ß within the fibrotic milieu, might play a significant functional role in persistence of fibrotic responses, while pharmacological augmentation of A20 inhibitory pathway activity might represent a novel therapeutic strategy.

Indexed as

Blotting, WesternCells, CulturedFibroblastsFibrosisFluorescent Antibody TechniqueGene Knockdown TechniquesHumansMicroscopy, ConfocalPolymerase Chain ReactionScleroderma, SystemicSignal TransductionSkinSmad ProteinsTransforming Growth Factor betaTumor Necrosis Factor alpha-Induced Protein 3Smad ProteinsTNFAIP3 protein, humanTransforming Growth Factor betaTumor Necrosis Factor alpha-Induced Protein 3A20adiponectinFibrosisIL-6LPSSystemic sclerosisTGF-ßTLR4TNFAIP3Type I collagen

Identifiers

PMID27716397
PMCPMC5048449
OpenAlexW2528156949

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.