Lung fibroblast proteoglycan production induced by serum is inhibited by budesonide and formoterol

Proteoglycans contribute to extracellular matrix remodeling in asthmatic airways. We investigated the effects of budesonide, a glucocorticoid, and formoterol, a long-acting beta2-adrenergic agonist, on serum-induced proteoglycan production by human lung fibroblasts. In 10% serum, total proteoglycan production was increased 1.5-fold (P < 0.01) compared with basal production in 0.4% serum. Budesonide (10(-8) M) reduced this increase by 44% (P < 0.01) and, whereas formoterol (10(-10)-10(-8) M) had no inhibitory effects, the drug combination abolished the increase (P < 0.01) without affecting fibroblast proliferation. This synergistic effect required functional glucocorticoid and beta-adrenergic receptors. The production of the proteoglycans decorin, biglycan, perlecan, and versican was increased 2.5- to 5-fold (P < 0.01) in 10% serum. Combination treatment with budesonide (10(-8) M) and formoterol (10(-10) M) abolished this increase to a significantly greater extent than either drug alone. In 10% serum, only versican mRNA was increased 1.4-fold (P < 0.05), whereas decorin mRNA was reduced to 39% (P < 0.01) of basal expression. These serum effects were counteracted by the drug combination, but there were no significant differences between the combination and either drug alone. Thus, the budesonide and formoterol combination seems to synergistically control serum-induced proteoglycan production, primarily at the post-transcriptional level. In conclusion, the proteoglycan upregulation characteristic of asthmatic airways may be limited by combination therapy with budesonide and formoterol.