Regulatory Interactions between Androgens, Hoxb5, and TGFβSignaling in Murine Lung Development

Abstract

Androgens enhance airway branching but delay alveolar maturation contributing to increased respiratory morbidity in prematurely born male infants. Hoxb5 protein positively regulates airway branching in developing lung. In other organs, androgen regulation intersects with Hox proteins and TGFβ-SMAD signaling, but these interactions have not been studied in the lung. We hypothesized that androgen alteration of airway branching early in lung development requires Hoxb5 expression and that these androgen-Hoxb5 interactions occur partially through regional changes in TGFβsignaling. To evaluate acute effects of androgen and TGFβon Hoxb5, E11 whole fetal mouse lungs were cultured with dihydrotestosterone (DHT) with/without Hoxb5 siRNA or TGFβinhibitory antibody. Chronicin uteroDHT exposure was accomplished by exposing pregnant mice to DHT (subcutaneous pellet) from E11 to E18. DHT’s ability to enhance airway branching and alter phosphorylated SMAD2 cellular localization was partially dependent on Hoxb5. Hoxb5 inhibition also changed the cellular distribution of SMAD7 protein. Chronicin uteroDHT increased Hoxb5 and altered SMAD7 mesenchymal localization. TGFβinhibition enhanced airway branching, and Hoxb5 protein cellular localization was more diffuse. We conclude that DHT controls lung airway development partially through modulation of Hoxb5 protein expression and that this level of regulation involves interactions with TGFβsignaling.