Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37938601›Full record

ArticleScientific reports2023

Antifibrotic effect of apremilast in systemic sclerosis dermal fibroblasts and bleomycin-induced mouse model.

Tomoaki Higuchi, Kae Takagi, Akiko Tochimoto, Yuki Ichimura, Hikaru Hirose, Tatsuo Sawada, Noriyuki Shibata, Masayoshi Harigai, Yasushi Kawaguchi

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Scientific reports, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
2.0field-weighted citation impact, top 13% 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

5 citing papers in PubMed, 8 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Distinct cAMP Regulation in Scleroderma Lung and Skin Myofibroblasts Governs Their Dedifferentiation via p38α Inhibition.FASEB journal : official publication of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology · 2025
    Article
  4. Article
  5. Review
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

9 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Tomoaki HiguchiDivision of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Tokyo Women's Medical University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan. higuchi.tomoaki@twmu.ac.jp.
Kae TakagiDivision of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Tokyo Women's Medical University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
Akiko TochimotoDivision of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Tokyo Women's Medical University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
Yuki IchimuraDivision of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Tokyo Women's Medical University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
Hikaru HiroseDivision of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Tokyo Women's Medical University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
Tatsuo SawadaDepartment of Pathology, Tokyo Women's Medical University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
Noriyuki ShibataDepartment of Pathology, Tokyo Women's Medical University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
Masayoshi HarigaiDivision of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Tokyo Women's Medical University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
Yasushi KawaguchiDivision of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Tokyo Women's Medical University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
Tokyo Women's Medical University · JPTokyo Medical and Dental University · JP

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Phosphodiesterase (PDE) 4 inhibitors have been reported to suppress the progression of dermal fibrosis in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc); however, the precise mechanisms remain to be elucidated. Therefore, we conducted experiments focusing on the antifibrotic and anti-inflammatory effects of apremilast using dermal fibroblasts derived from patients with SSc and an SSc mouse model. Dermal fibroblasts derived from healthy controls and patients with SSc were incubated with apremilast in the presence or absence of 10 ng/ml transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1 for the measurement of intracellular cAMP levels and evaluation of mRNA and protein expression. A bleomycin-induced dermal fibrosis mouse model was used to evaluate the inhibitory effects of apremilast on the progression of dermal fibrosis. Intracellular cAMP levels were significantly reduced in dermal fibroblasts derived from patients with SSc compared with those derived from healthy controls. Apremilast reduced the mRNA expression of profibrotic markers and the protein expression of type I collagen and Cellular Communication Network Factor 2 (CCN2) in dermal fibroblasts. Additionally, apremilast inhibited the progression of dermal fibrosis in mice, partly by acting on T cells. These results suggest that apremilast may be a potential candidate for treating dermal fibrosis in SSc.

Indexed as

Phosphodiesterase 4 InhibitorsScleroderma, SystemicAnimalsBleomycinDisease Models, AnimalFibroblastsFibrosisHumansMiceRNA, MessengerThalidomideapremilastBleomycinPhosphodiesterase 4 InhibitorsRNA, MessengerThalidomide

Identifiers

PMID37938601
PMCPMC10632419
OpenAlexW4388492768

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
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.