Evidence map›Paper›PMID 28301516›Full record

ArticlePloS one2017

Follistatin attenuates radiation-induced fibrosis in a murine model.

Helen B Forrester, David M de Kretser, Trevor Leong, Jim Hagekyriakou, Carl N Sprung

Open access · goldAbstract readValidation Study
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
8citing papers in PubMed
1.9field-weighted citation impact, top 15% 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

8 citing papers in PubMed, 17 citations in OpenAlex.

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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

5 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Helen B ForresterCentre for Innate Immunity and Infectious Diseases, Hudson Institute of Medical Research, Clayton, Victoria, Australia.
David M de KretserCentre for Reproductive Health, Hudson Institute of Medical Research, Clayton, Victoria, Australia.
Trevor LeongDivision of Radiation Oncology and Cancer Imaging, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, East Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Jim HagekyriakouDivision of Radiation Oncology and Cancer Imaging, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, East Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Carl N SprungCentre for Innate Immunity and Infectious Diseases, Hudson Institute of Medical Research, Clayton, Victoria, Australia.
Monash University · AUPeter MacCallum Cancer Centre · AUHudson Institute of Medical Research · AU

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeFibrosis can be a disabling, severe side effect of radiotherapy that can occur in patients, and for which there is currently no effective treatment. The activins, proteins which are members of the TGFβ superfamily, have a major role in stimulating the inflammatory response and subsequent fibrosis. Follistatin is an endogenous protein that binds the activins virtually irreversibly and inhibits their actions. These studies test if follistatin can attenuate the fibrotic response using a murine model of radiation-induced fibrosis. EXPERIMENTAL

designC57BL/6 mice were subcutaneously injected with follistatin 24 hours prior to irradiation. Mice were irradiated in a 10 x 10 mm square area of the right hind leg with 35 Gy and were given follistatin 24 hours before radiation and three times a week for six months following. Leg extension was measured, and tissue was collected for histological and molecular analysis to evaluate the progression of the radiation-induced fibrosis.

resultsLeg extension was improved in follistatin treated mice compared to vehicle treated mice at six months after irradiation. Also, epidermal thickness and cell nucleus area of keratinocytes were decreased by the follistatin treatment compared to the cells in irradiated skin of control mice. Finally, the gene expression of transforming growth factor β1 (Tgfb1), and smooth muscle actin (Acta2) were decreased in the irradiated skin and Acta2 and inhibin βA subunit (Inhba) were decreased in the irradiated muscle of the follistatin treated mice.

conclusionsFollistatin attenuated the radiation-induced fibrotic response in irradiated mice. These studies provide the data to support further investigation of the use of follistatin to reduce radiation-induced fibrosis in patients undergoing radiotherapy for cancer.

Indexed as

Disease Models, AnimalActinsAnimalsFibrosisFollistatinInhibin-beta SubunitsMiceMice, Inbred C57BLRadiation InjuriesReal-Time Polymerase Chain ReactionSkinTransforming Growth Factor beta1Acta2 protein, mouseActinsFollistatininhibin beta A subunitInhibin-beta SubunitsTransforming Growth Factor beta1

Identifiers

PMID28301516
PMCPMC5354399
OpenAlexW2595269610

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Registered trials

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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.