House dust mite-induced endoplasmic reticulum stress mediates MUC5AC hypersecretion via TBK1 in airway epithelium

Purpose: Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress regulates mucus hypersecretion, and may activate downstream factors via TBK1 signaling to induce gene expression. However, it remains unclear whether ER stress promotes airway mucus secretion through the TBK1 pathway. We aimed to investigate the role of the TBK1 pathway in the regulation of MUC5AC expression in a mouse model of house dust mite (HDM)-induced allergic asthma. Materials and Methods: Mice with HDM-induced asthma and human bronchial epithelial BEAS-2B cells were treated with amlexanox, an anti-allergy drug (25 μM), or 4-PBA (10 mM). Tissue and cell samples were collected. Tissue samples were stained with hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) or periodic acid Schiff (PAS) to evaluate pathology. Protein expression was analyzed by western blotting and immunofluorescence. Results: Mice exposed to HDM presented ER stress and hypersecretion of mucus Muc5ac from airway epithelial cells (p < 0.001). Similar results were observed in BEAS-2B cells following exposure to HDM. Both in vivo and in vitro studies revealed that HDM-induced ER stress induced MUC5AC overexpression via TBK1 signaling. Amlexanox and 4-PBA markedly reduced mucus production and weakened the TBK1 signal, which mediates MUC5AC hypersecretion. Conclusion: TBK1 plays a pivotal role in HDM-induced ER stress, leading to overproduction of MUC5AC in the asthmatic airway epithelium. The overproduction of MUC5AC can be significantly decreased by inhibiting TBK1 or ER stress using 4-PBA. These findings highlight potential target-specific therapies for patients with chronic allergic asthma.