Xenopus: An alternative model system for identifying muco-active agents

• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0193310
• Publication Date: 2018-02-22T14:09:47Z
• Authors: Hyo Jung Sim; Sang-Hyun Kim; Kyung-Jae Myung; Taejoon Kwon; Hyun-Shik Lee; Tae Joo Park
• Keywords: 0301 basic medicine; Embryo, Nonmammalian; Science; Q; R; Drug Evaluation, Preclinical; Models, Biological; Cell Line; 3. Good health; Xenopus laevis; 03 medical and health sciences; Medicine; Animals; Humans; Tissue Adhesives; Research Article

The airway epithelium in human plays a central role as the first line of defense against environmental contaminants. Most respiratory diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, and respiratory infections, disturb normal muco-ciliary functions by stimulating the hypersecretion of mucus. Several muco-active agents have been used to treat hypersecretion symptoms in patients. Current muco-active reagents control mucus secretion by modulating either airway inflammation, cholinergic parasympathetic nerve activities or by reducing the viscosity by cleaving crosslinking in mucin and digesting DNAs in mucus. However, none of the current medication regulates mucus secretion by directly targeting airway goblet cells. The major hurdle for screening potential muco-active agents that directly affect the goblet cells, is the unavailability of in vivo model systems suitable for high-throughput screening. In this study, we developed a high-throughput in vivo model system for identifying muco-active reagents using Xenopus laevis embryos. We tested mucus secretion under various conditions and developed a screening strategy to identify potential muco-regulators. Using this novel screening technique, we identified narasin as a potential muco-regulator. Narasin treatment of developing Xenopus embryos significantly reduced mucus secretion. Furthermore, the human lung epithelial cell line, Calu-3, responded similarly to narasin treatment, validating our technique for discovering muco-active reagents.