Patent Abstract:
the present invention methods and novel compounds for facilitating tissue repair and regeneration when the extracellular matrix is damaged . specifically , binding of the beta 1 integrin is shown to provide a modulation of its functional activity resulting in up regulation of extracellular matrix anabolism . the invention therefore provides a method and novel compounds which can facilitate tissue regeneration in many systems such as the lung , skin , liver and bone . in particular , the binding of the jb1a antibody to a site of amino acid residues 82 to 87 of the mature beta 1 integrin is shown to be particularly effective in mediating the described tissue repair effect .

Detailed Description:
the term ‘ treatment ’ as used herein refers to any regime that can benefit a human or non - human animal . the treatment may be in respect of an existing condition or may be prophylactic ( preventative treatment ). treatment may include curative , alleviation or prophylactic effects . an “ antibody ” is an immunoglobulin , whether natural or partly or wholly synthetically produced . the term also covers any polypeptide , protein or peptide having a binding domain that is , or is homologous to , an antibody binding domain and in particular the antibody binding domains of the beta 1 integrin to which the jb1a antibody or 6ss antibody binds . such polypeptides , proteins or peptides can be derived from natural sources , or they may be partly or wholly synthetically produced . examples of antibodies are the immunoglobulin isotypes and their isotypic subclasses and fragments which comprise an antigen binding domain . antibodies for use in the invention , including for example the jb1a or 6s6 antibodies or analogues thereof . analogues of such antibodies may be made by varying the amino acid sequence of the antibody e . g . by manipulation of the nucleic acid encoding the protein or by altering the protein itself . such derivatives of the amino acid sequence may involve insertion , addition , deletion and / or substitution of one or more amino acids preferably such analogues involve the insertion , addition , deletion and / or substitution of 5 or fewer , and most preferably of only 1 or 2 amino acids . analogues also include derivatives of the peptide sequences of the antibodies , including the peptide being linked to a coupling partner , e . g . an effector molecule , a label , a drug , a toxin and / or a carrier or transport molecule . techniques for coupling the peptides of the invention to both peptidyl and non - peptidyl coupling partners are well known in the art . analogues of and for use in the invention preferably retain beta 1 integrin modulating activity . antibodies for use in the invention may be monoclonal or polyclonal , or fragments thereof . the constant region of the antibody may be of any class including , but not limited to , human classes igg , iga , igm , igd and ige . the antibody may belong to any sub class e . g . igg1 , igg2 , igg3 and igg4 . the term “ antibody ” includes antibodies which have been “ humanised ”. methods for making humanised antibodies are known in the art . such methods are described , for example , in winter , u . s . pat . no . 5 , 225 , 539 . a humanised antibody may be a modified antibody having the hypervariable region of a monoclonal antibody and the constant region of a human antibody . thus the binding member may comprise a human constant region . as antibodies can be modified in a number of ways , the term “ antibody ” should be construed as covering any binding member or substance having a binding domain with the required specificity . thus , this term also covers antibody fragments , derivatives , functional equivalents and homologues of antibodies , including any polypeptide comprising an immunoglobulin - binding domain , whether natural or wholly or partially synthetic . chimeric molecules comprising an immunoglobulin binding domain , or equivalent , fused to another polypeptide are therefore included . cloning and expression of chimeric antibodies are described in ep - a - 0120694 and ep - a - 0125023 . it has been shown that fragments of a whole antibody can perform the function of antigen binding . examples of such binding fragments are ( i ) the fab fragment consisting of vl , vh , cl and ch1 domains ; ( ii ) the fd fragment consisting of the vh and ch1 domains ; ( iii ) the fv fragment consisting of the vl and vh domains of a single antibody ; ( iv ) the dab fragment ( 99 ) which consists of a vh domain ; ( v ) isolated cdr regions ; ( vi ) f ( ab ′) 2 fragments , a bivalent fragment comprising two linked fab fragments ( vii ) single chain fv molecules ( scfv ), wherein a vh domain and a vl domain are linked by a peptide linker which allows the two domains to associate to form an antigen binding site ( 11 ; 50 ); ( viii ) bispecific single chain fv dimers ( pct / us92 / 09965 ) and ( ix ) “ diabodies ”, multivalent or multispecific fragments constructed by gene fusion ( wo94 / 13804 ; ( 46 )). substitutions may be made to the binding epitope of antibodies for use in the invention for example amino acid residues may be substituted with a residues of the same or similar chemical class , and which result in no substantial conformational change of the binding epitope . antibodies of and for use in the invention can be prepared according to standard techniques . procedures for immunising animals , e . g . mice with proteins and selection of hybridomas producing immunogen specific monoclonal antibodies are well known in the art . the antibody is preferably a monoclonal antibody . the present invention further extends to pharmaceuticals and to pharmaceutical compositions for the modulation of the function of the beta 1 integrin . accordingly , yet further aspect of the present invention provides a pharmaceutical composition for use in tissue repair wherein the composition includes as an active ingredient , a compound which modifies the function of beta 1 integrin . pharmaceutical compositions according to the present invention , and for use in accordance with the present invention may comprise , in addition to active ingredient , a pharmaceutically acceptable excipient , carrier , buffer stabiliser or other materials well known to those skilled in the art . such materials should be non - toxic and should not interfere with the efficacy of the active ingredient . the precise nature of the carrier or other material will depend on the route of administration . the composition is preferably administered to an individual in a “ therapeutically effective amount ”, this being sufficient to show benefit to the individual . the actual amount administered , and rate and time - course of administration , will depend on the individual and condition being treated . the optimal dose can be determined based on a number of parameters including , for example the age of the individual and the extent of tissue damage , the precise form of the composition being administered and the route of administration . the composition may be administered via microspheres , liposomes , other microparticulate delivery systems or sustained release formulations placed in certain tissues including blood . suitable examples of sustained release carriers include semipermeable polymer matrices in the form of shared articles , e . g . suppositories or microcapsules . examples of the techniques and protocols mentioned above and other techniques and protocols which may be used in accordance with the invention can be found in remington &# 39 ; s pharmaceutical sciences , 18th edition , gennaro , a . r ., lippincott williams & amp ; wilkins ; 20th edition ( dec . 15 , 2000 ) isbn 0 - 912734 - 04 - 3 and pharmaceutical dosage forms and drug delivery systems ; ansel , h . c . et al . 7 th edition isbn 0 - 683305 - 72 - 7 the entire disclosures of which is herein incorporated by reference . as described above , the invention provides assay systems and screening methods for determining compounds which may be used in tissue repair . as used herein , an “ assay system ” encompasses all the components required for performing and analysing results of an assay that detects and / or measures a particular event or events . a variety of assays are available to detect the activity of compounds such as antibodies , peptides and chemicals which have specific binding activity to beta 1 integrin . the precise format of the assay ( s ) of the invention may be varied by those skilled in the art using routine skill and knowledge . preferred screening assays are high throughput or ultra high throughput and thus provide automated , cost - effective means of screening . the discovery that modifications of beta 1 integrin may be useful in tissue repair enables the indentification and of further novel compounds useful for tissue repair . accordingly , a further aspect of the invention provides an assay for identifying compounds suitable for use in tissue repair , said assay comprising the steps of : providing a candidate compound , bringing the candidate compound into contact with beta 1 integrin or an analogue thereof , determining the presence or absence of modulation of beta 1 integrin activity by the candidate compound , wherein modulation of beta 1 integrin activity is indicative of utility of that compound in tissue repair . preferably the method includes the step of determining the ability of a compound to bind the domain corresponding to residues 82 - 87 of the mature beta 1 ( β1 ) integrin . these residues have the sequence as defined in seq id no : 1 , namely taeklk ( threonine - alanine - glutamic acid - lysine - leucine - lysine ). in another embodiment , the presence or absence of beta 1 integrin activity is assessed by monitoring modulation of mmp activity . beta 1 integrin modulating activity may be assessed in the assays of the invention using any suitable means . for example , the effect of the agent on mmp levels or balance , and / or the effect on apoptosis and apoptotic pathways . exemplary assays are western blotting analyses and elisa based assays for mmps protein in both active and inactive forms , proteoglycans synthesis using western analyses and elisa based assays , cell adhesion based assays , apoptosis assays using in - situ labelling , immunohistochemistry and gel analyses . in various further aspects , the present invention relates to screening and assay methods and to substances identified thereby . novel compounds identified using the assays of the invention form a further independent aspect of the invention . in assays of the invention , analogues of beta 1 integrin may be used . such analogues may comprise one or more binding sites of beta 1 integrin , for example the binding site corresponding to amino acid residues 82 to 87 of the mature beta 1 integrin molecule . alternatively , the analogue may comprise a beta 1 integrin mimetic . the skilled person is well aware of how to design such a mimetic . briefly , a template molecule is selected onto which chemical groups which mimic the pharmacophore can be grafted . the template molecule and the chemical groups grafted on to it can conveniently be selected so that the mimetic is easy to synthesise , is likely to be pharmacologically acceptable , and does not degrade in - vivo , while retaining the biological activity of the beta 1 integrin . the mimetic found by this approach can then be used in assays of the invention in place of beta 1 integrin to see whether they have a target property eg . beta 1 integrin activity , or to what extent they exhibit it . further optimisation or modification can then be carried out to arrive at one or more final mimetics for in - vivo or clinical testing or for use in the assays of the invention . preferred features of each aspect of the invention are as for each other aspect , mutatis mutandis , unless the context demands otherwise . unless otherwise defined , all technical and scientific terms used herein have the meaning commonly understood by a person who is skilled in the art in the field of the present invention . throughout the specification , unless the context demands otherwise , the terms ‘ comprise ’ or ‘ include ’, or variations such as ‘ comprises ’ or ‘ comprising ’, ‘ includes ’ or ‘ including ’ will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated integer or group of integers , but not the exclusion of any other integer or group of integers . the invention is exemplified herein with reference to the following non limiting examples which are provided for the purpose of illustration and are not to be construed as being limiting on the present invention . further reference is made to the accompanying figures wherein ; fig1 illustrates time - dependent effects of functional modification of β1 integrin and neutralising tgf - β on ecm pg from h441 cell lines , fig2 shows the presence of a 110 kda β1 integrin in the media of chondrocytes in alginate cultures and h441 cells separated onto 6 % sds - polyacrylamide gels following β1 integrin function modulation , fig3 illustrates the time - dependent effect of functional modification of β1 integrin on ecm pgs in human lung explants and the lack of effect using a control β1 integrin antibody , fig4 illustrates the effects of functional modification of β1 integrin on ecm pgs in human lung explants , fig5 shows western analyses demonstrating the increase in inactive mmp9 in the media of human lung explants following β1 integrin function modulation , fig6 shows western analyses demonstrating the increase in ecm pg , perlecan in the media of cultured human lung cells ( collagenase digest alone or in co - culture with the elastase digests ) following β1 integrin function modulation ( β1 ab ). the figure also shows the effect of cycloheximide ( cxh ) and apma on the pg response to β1 integrin function modulation . in addition , the effect of neutralising mp7 and 9 and sps are demonstrated , fig7 shows western analyses demonstrating the increase in timp1 in the media of cultured human lung cells ( collagenase digest alone or in co - culture with the elastase digests ) following β1 integrin function modulation ( β1 ab ). the figure also shows the effect of cycloheximide ( cxh ) and apma on the timp1 response to β1 integrin function modulation . in addition , the effect of neutralising mmp7 and 9 and mmps are demonstrated , fig8 shows western analyses demonstrating the decrease in mmp1 in the media of cultured human lung cells ( collagenase digest alone or in co - culture with the elastase digests ) following β1 integrin function modulation ( β1 ab ). the figure also shows the effect of cycloheximide ( cxh ) and apma on the timp1 response to β1 integrin function modulation . in addition , the effect of neutralising mmp7 and 9 and mmps are demonstrated , fig9 shows western analyses demonstrating the increase in inactive mp9 in the media of cultured human lung cells ( collagenase digest alone or in co - culture with the elastase digests ) following β1 integrin function modulation ( β1 ab ). the figure also shows the effect of cycloheximide ( cxh ) and apma on the timp1 response to β1 integrin function modulation . in addition , the effect of neutralising mmp7 and 9 and mmps are demonstrated , fig1 shows a photograph demonstrating the effect of β1 integrin functional modification on the size lungs of emphysematous mice ( ppe ), fig1 shows haematoxylin and eosin staining of 4 um formalin - fixed paraffin embedded section demonstrating the effect of β1 integrin functional modification on repair of lung architecture in elastase - induced emphysema in mice , fig1 demonstrates the effect of β1 integrin functional modification on air space enlargement in elastase induced emphysema in mice , fig1 demonstrates the effect of β1 integrin functional modification on active tgfβ1 levels in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid in elastase induced emphysema in mice , fig1 demonstrates the correlation of active tgfβ1 levels in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and air space enlargement index and the effect of β1 integrin functional modification in elastase induced emphysema in mice , fig1 shows western analyses demonstrating the increase in ecm pg , perlecan in the media of cultured human lung cells ( nci - h441 ) following β1 integrin function modulation ( β1 ab ). 6s6 anti β1 integrin antibody was also used . the figure also shows the effect of cycloheximide ( cxh ) and apma on the pg response to β1 integrin function modulation , fig1 shows western analyses demonstrating the increase in inactive mmp9 in the media of cultured human lung cells ( nci - h441 ) following β1 integrin function modulation ( β1 ab ). 6s6 anti β1 integrin antibody was also used . the figure also shows the effect of cycloheximide ( cxh ) and apma on the pg response to β1 integrin function modulation , fig1 shows the time course effect of porcine pancreatic elastase ( ppe ) instillation in mice on the pressure - volume curves of the respiratory system , fig1 shows the effect of β1 integrin function modulation on the reversal of ppe effect on the pressure - volume characteristics in mice instilled intratracheally with ppe and treated using jb1a antibody at day 14 then terminated at day 21 , fig1 shows the effect of β1 integrin function modulation on the reversal of ppe effect on the pressure - volume characteristics in mice instilled intratracheally with ppe and treated using jb1a antibody at day 21 and 28 then terminated at day 35 , fig2 shows the effect of β1 integrin function modulation on the reversal of ppe effect on the curvature of the upper part of the pressure - volume ( k ) in mice instilled intratracheally with ppe and treated using jb1a antibody at day 14 then terminated at day 21 ( 21d ) or at day 21 and 28 then terminated at day 35 ( 35d ), fig2 shows the effect of β1 integrin function modulation on the reversal of ppe effect on quasi - static elastance at 5 - 13 cmh 2 o pressure in mice instilled intratracheally with ppe and treated using jb1a antibody at day 14 then terminated at day 21 ( 21d ) or at day 21 and 28 then terminated at day 35 ( 35d ), fig2 shows the effect of β1 integrin function modulation on the reversal of ppe effect on the peak pressures obtained from the pressure - volume manoeuvres in mice instilled intratracheally with ppe and treated using jb1a antibody at day 14 then terminated at day 21 ( 21d ) or at day 21 and 28 then terminated at day 35 ( 35d ), fig2 shows the effect of β1 integrin function modulation on the reversal of ppe effect on the quasi - static hysteresis in mice instilled intratracheally with ppe and treated using jb1a antibody at day 14 then terminated at day 21 ( 21d ) or at day 21 and 28 then terminated at day 35 ( 35d ), fig2 shows the effect of β1 integrin function modulation on the reversal of ppe effect on newtonian resistance ( raw , also known as airway resistance ) in mice instilled intratracheally with ppe and treated using jb1a antibody at day 14 then terminated at day 21 ( 21d ) or at day 21 and 28 then terminated at day 35 ( 35d ), fig2 shows the effect of β1 integrin function modulation on the reversal of ppe effect on tissue resistance ( g ) in mice instilled intratracheally with ppe and treated using jb1a antibody at day 14 then terminated at day 21 ( 21d ) or at day 21 and 28 then terminated at day 35 ( 35d ), fig2 shows the effect of β1 integrin function modulation on the reversal of ppe effect on tissue elastance ( h ) in mice instilled intratracheally with ppe and treated using jb1a antibody at day 14 then terminated at day 21 ( 21d ) or at day 21 and 28 then terminated at day 35 ( 35d ), fig2 shows the effect of β1 integrin function modulation on the reversal of ppe effect on air space enlargement using the mean linear intercept ( lm ) in mice instilled intratracheally with ppe and treated using jb1a antibody at day 14 then terminated at day 21 ( 21d ) or at day 21 and 28 then terminated at day 35 ( 35d ), fig2 shows immunohistochemical staining of 4 um formalin - fixed paraffin embedded section demonstrating the effect of β1 integrin functional modification on the reversal of ppe effects on apoptosis in the lungs of mice instilled intratracheally with ppe and treated using jb1a antibody at day 14 then terminated at day 21 ( 21d ) or at day 21 and 28 then terminated at day 35 ( 35d ). tunel positive cells ( apoptotic ) appear red ( rhodamine ) are indicated with arrows . dapi nuclear staining appears grey , fig2 shows resorcin - acid fuschin staining of 4 um formalin - fixed paraffin embedded section demonstrating the effect of β1 integrin functional modification on repair of elastic fibres after ppe - induce damage in the lungs of mice instilled intratracheally with ppe and treated using jb1a antibody at day 14 then terminated at day 21 ( 21d ) or at day 21 and 28 then terminated at day 35 ( 35d ), and table 1 shows the correlation coefficients ( r ) and the significance of the correlations between the lung physiological measurements and the mean linear intercept ( lm ). in a preliminary experiment , the present inventors attempted to investigate the role of the cell surface receptors in the synthesis of ecm which are altered in diseases such as copd and are important for lung and cartilage function microscopically and macroscopically . the importance of those ecm molecules in health and disease is not exclusive to the lung . the results described herein demonstrate that functional modification of β1 integrin through a domain corresponding to amino acid residues 82 to 87 and to a lesser extent through a domain not yet specifically identified , but thought to be in the efg - like repeat domain distinct from the 82 to 87 domain , induces a substantial time - and dose - dependent increase in ecm in a human lung epithelial cell line ( nci - h441 ) in monolayer and human lung explants as well as human lung derived culture in monolayer or co - culture system . the response was observed using two different antibodies against β1 integrin though the magnitude of the response was variable . these domains are different from those previously described which bind to the amino acid sequence residues 207 to 218 . it is also distinct from the known stimulatory domains which are localised to those amino acid residues and residues 657 to 670 and 671 to 703 . modulation of the cytokine tgf - β induced a less profound increase which was also time - and dose - dependent . this increase in all ecm pgs was sustained for extended periods of time without any additive doses . these experiments demonstrate a novel finding which is that an increase in ecm can be achieved via the modulation of cell surface receptors and to a much lesser extent by modulating the binding of a soluble factor in a time - and dose - dependent manner in pulmonary derived cells and tissues in animal models . potential , but non - binding mechanistic hypotheses are that this modulation may have led to alteration in the cell adhesion its damaged surroundings and thus prevented cell death permitting repair to ensue . this alteration in turn may affect the proteinase / antiproteinase balance which can be sequestered onto the surface of cells . furthermore , the response could be a result of changes in gene transcription or translation . our experiments have demonstrated that the response is due to combination of all the above . the ecm response to β1 integrin functional modification was accompanied by a decrease in cell death and increase in timp1 , inactive mp9 and active tgfβ1 and a decrease in mmp1 . when administered to animals which have emphysematous lungs , the treatment reversed the abnormal increase in the mean linear intercept ( lm ) as an index of air space enlargement , lung size and abnormal lung function as well as signs of inflammation . furthermore , there was a decrease in cell death . the potential of these findings lie in tissue repair indisease where the matrix is degraded and cannot be replenished as in diseases that include but not exclusive to copd . the finding may offer a venue for therapeutic intervention in diseases where the only current lines of therapy focus on alleviating the symptoms by the use of anti - inflammatory agents but has no potential for regaining function . this could be achieved via the administration of humanised , chimeric or human antibodies or synthetic peptides or chemicals capable of binding β1 integrin and inhibiting cell death . in summary , the results herein address a different potential therapeutic modality which focuses on increasing cell viability and ecm anabolism instead of decreasing catabolism . human lung tissue specimens were obtained with consent and cultured as either 20 - 30 mg explant strips or cells . cell were isolated by sequential digestions modified from methods by murphy et al . and elbert et al . ( 25 ; 75 ) where the tissue ( 10 g ) was washed using hepes buffer ( buffer a : 0 . 13m nacl , 5 . 2 mm kcl , 10 . 6 mm hepes , 2 . 6 mm na 2 hpo 4 , 10 mm d - glucose , ph 7 . 4 ). the tissue was then incubated in 40 ml buffer a containing 0 . 855 mg elastase ( roche ) 0 . 5 % trypsin , 200 u / g dnasi , 1 . 9 mm cacl 2 , and 1 . 29 mm mgso 4 for 40 minutes at 37 ° c . the digest buffer is then aspirated and suspended cells washed three times in buffer a . the cells between each wash were pelleted by centrifuging the suspension for 10 minutes at 1100 rpm and 4 ° c . after the final was the cells were resuspended in buffer a , filtered through 40 um filter and then subjected to discontinuous percoll gradient ( 1 . 089 / 1 . 04 g / ml ). the cells were then plated onto multi - well culture plates and tissue culture transwells of 0 . 3 um pore size ( sigma ) and maintained in culture using 1 : 1 dmem / f12 : small airway growth media ( cambrex bioscince wokingham ltd .) containing 1 % foetal calf serum l - glutamine and antibiotic / antimycotic / antifungal mixture and maintained at 5 % in an co 2 incubator . the remaining tissue was treated with dmem containing 40 % foetal calf serum to inactivate the digestive enzymes and then washed using solution a . the tissue was then incubated in dmem containing 1 mg / ml collagenase , 0 . 5 % trypsin and 200 u / g dnasi and maintained at 5 % in an co 2 incubator . the cell suspension was washed as above and cells seeded on multiwell culture plates and maintained in dmem ( sigma aldrich ) containing 10 % foetal calf serum , l - glutamine and antibiotic / antimycotic / antifungal mixture and maintained at 5 % in a co 2 incubator . adenocarcinoma cell line derived from the lung were also used ( h441 ) to test the effect of the antibodies on matrix synthesis . this cell line has epithelial type ii characteristics . cultures were subjected to serum starving overnight in a medium containing 0 . 5 % foetal calf serum . some collagense digested plated were co - culture with the elastase digest transwells at the time of initiating the starvation . functional modifying antibody of β1 integrin ( chemicon , clone jb1a ) was added to the cultures at concentration of 1 . 44 and 0 . 48 μg / ml . the β1 integrin stimulatory antibody ts2 / 16 was also added at 0 . 9 μg / ml for 1 hour to demonstrate the specificity of the jb1a action . the β1 integrin inhibitory antibody 6s6 was also added at 1 μg / ml and 2 μg / ml for 1 hour . tgfβ neutralising antibody ( r & amp ; d systems , clone 1d11 ) was added at a concentration of 0 . 1 and 0 . 3 μg / ml where at the lower concentration it neutralises tgfβ isoforms 1 and 3 and isoform 2 at the higher concentration . after antibody addition to the cells in culture , the medium was aspirated and the cell layer rinsed twice with ice - cold pbs ( calcium - and magnesium - free ). the media was aspirated and preserved after the addition of protease inhibitors at − 80 ° c . pgs were extracted from the cell layer by extraction buffer containing protease inhibitors ( 4m guanidium - hcl , 4 % ( w / v ) chaps , 100 mm sodium acetate buffer at ph 5 . 8 containing protease inhibitors ) for 24 hours at 4 ° c . in additional experiments , the effect of protein synthesis inhibition on β1 integrin mediated pg increase was tested by pretreating the human lung derived cells with 25 um cycloheximide . the effect of non - specific activation of mmps on β1 integrin mediated pg increase was tested by pretreating the human lung derived cells with 0 . 5 m apma ( aminophenylmercuric acetate ). to investigate the involvement of selected mmps in initiating the response observed with β1 integrin , specific neutralising antibodies for mmp7 ( 1 : 1000 , r & amp ; d systems ) and mmp9 ( 1 : 1000 of clone 6 - 6b , oncogene research products . a homophe - hydroxamic acid based broad spectrum inhibitor of mmps was also used at 2 . 3 nm ( mmp inhibitor iii , calbiochem ). the extracts were precipitated overnight with 9 v / v ethanol at − 20 ° c ., centrifuged at 12 , 000 rpm for 40 minutes at 4 ° c . then resuspended in 0 . 5m sodium acetate ( ph 7 . 3 ) and precipitated again with ethanol overnight and centrifuged . samples were resuspended in 0 . 5 % sds and mixed with 1 : 1 v / v with 50 % w / w sucrose in 10 mm tris - hcl ( ph 6 . 8 ), 0 . 5 % sds and 0 . 05 % bromophenol blue . 20 ug of protein was used for gel loading . composite gels ( 1 . 5 mm thick ) containing 0 . 6 % agarose and 1 . 2 % polyacrylamide in tris - sodium acetate buffer ( 10 mm , ph 6 . 8 ) containing 0 . 25 mm sodium sulphate were used for the separation of large pg , versican , aggrecan and perlecan , under associative conditions according to the method of carney . sds - page was also used to separate the denatured pg and proteins . after electrophoretic separation , the samples were transferred onto hybond ecl - nitrocellulose membrane ( amersham pharmacia ) using a wet blotting unit ( biorad ). membranes were blocked with 5 % milk in tbs ph 7 . 4 containing 0 . 1 % v / v tween - 20 and 0 . 1 % sodium azide for 1 hours at room temperature and then incubated with primary antibodies diluted in tbs - tween 20 for 1 hour at room temperature or overnight at 4 ° c . the primary antibody for versican ( 12c5 ) was mouse anti - human at 1 / 500 dilution ( hybridoma bank , iowa city , iowa ). this antibody recognizes the hyaluronic acid binding domain of versican ( 83 ). aggrecan antibody was used at dilution of 1 / 500 aggrecan ( serotec , hag7e1 ). due to the fact that the exact epitope recognised by this antibody is unknown , additional antibodies were used . perlcan antibody was used at a dilution of 1 / 1000 ( 7b5 , zymed laboratories ). this antibody has been demonstrated to be immunoreactive to non - degraded forms of perlecan ( 73 ). mmp1 ( 41 - 1e5 ), inactive mmp9 ( 7 - 11c ) and timp1 ( 7 - 6c1 ) antibodies were all from oncogene research products and used at 1 : 1000 dilution . some blots were stripped using 100 mm 2 - mercaptoethanol , 2 % sds and 62 . 5 mm tris - hcl ( ph 6 . 7 ) at 56 ° c . for 20 minutes . they were then re - probed using a different antibody . a horseradish peroxidase ( hrp ) labelled secondary antibody ( goat anti mouse ig , dako ) was added . signal was visualised using the eclplus ( enhanced chemiluminescence ) assay ( amersham pharmacia ). the same analyses as detailed above were performed using extracts subjected to pre - clearing of the functional modifying antibodies by immunoprecipitation using protein a sepharose according to manufacturer &# 39 ; s instructions ( amersham pharmacia ). in additional experiments , immunohistochemical staining for pg was performed on 5 um thick frozen oct - embedded sections from human lung explants . the slides were blocked by incubating with universal blocking solution for 10 minutes at room temperature followed by biotin blocking solution for 10 minutes ( dako ). sections were then rinsed with tbs ( 0 . 5 m tris , ph 7 . 6 , 1 . 5 m nacl ), and incubated with the primary antibody . after washing with tbs , the tissue was incubated with a 1 / 200 biotin - labeled goat anti - mouse in tbs for 1 hour , rinsed with tbs and then further incubated with 1 / 100 alkaline phosphatase - conjugated avidin in tbs for 1 hour . after further washing , sections were developed with fast red salt 1 mg / ml in alkaline phosphatase substrate for 15 minutes at room temperature . sections were counter - stained with gil &# 39 ; s haematoxylin for 45 seconds , then washed with water . the sections were covered with a thin layer of crystal mount and dried in the oven at 37 ° c ., overnight . therapeutic effect using an in vivo animal model of injury : model of emphysema induced by instillation of porcine pancreatic elastase emphysema female c57 / bl6 mice ( 6 - 8 weeks old ) were instilled intra - tracheally using a metal cannula with 1 iu / g body weight porcine pancreatic elastase ( roche ). mice were sampled at day 10 post instillation and histology examined to verify the presence of air space enlargement . at day 12 , mice were treated intra - tracheally with the integrin antibody at 50 ug / animal in sterile pbs . control group was instilled initially with pbs and at day 12 with isotype control igg1 ( 50 ug / animal ). at day 19 post elastase instillation , the animals were sacrificed , bronchoalveolar lavage fluid ( balf ) collected and used to quantify the cytokines ( kc ( murine homologue of human il8 ) and active tgfb1 ) using sandwich elisa ( r & amp ; d systems ). the lungs were then removed en bloc and formalin - fixed at a pressure of 25 cm water , for histological assessment of damage and morphometric analysis ( mean linear intercept ). blocks were sectioned at 5 um thickness and stained using haematoxylin and eosin . sagittal sections were used from each animal . images from 10 fields per section at 100 × magnification were digitised and analysed using scion image ( nih ). actual field size was 1 . 33 ( h )× 1 . 03 ( v ) mm . the number of alveolar walls intercepting a horizontal and a vertical line was counted . mean linear intercept was calculated from each field ( horizontal and vertical ) by dividing the length of the line by the number of intercepts . in a follow - up study , female c57 / bl6 mice ( 6 - 8 weeks old ) were instilled intra - tracheally using a microspray device ( penn century , usa ) with 0 . 2 iu / g body weight porcine pancreatic elastase ( roche ). mice were sampled at day 14 post instillation and histology examined to verify the presence of air space enlargement . at day 14 or 21 , mice were treated intra - tracheally using microspray with the integrin antibody at 60 ug / animal in sterile pbs . control group was instilled initially with pbs and at day 14 or 21 with pbs . for the group treated at day 14 , the animals were terminated at day 21 as follows : the animals were anaesthetised using sodium pentobarbitone ( 45 mg / kg ), paralysed using pancuronium bromide ( 0 . 8 mg / kg ) and tracheostomised and ventilated using a small animal ventilator ( flexivent , scireq , montreal ) at 8 ml / kg and a rate of 150 breaths / minute and positive end expiratory pressures ( peep ) of 3 . 5 cmh 2 o in pressure limited fashion . the computer - controlled ventilator enables the measurement of pulmonary mechanics ( airway resistance , tissue resistance and elasticity , pressure - volume curves ) by applying an interrupter signals . for the complex impedance measurements , a signal of 8 seconds containing 19 prime sinusoidal waves with amplitude of 1 . 6 ml / kg between 0 . 5 and 19 . 6 hz is applied . the signals of cylinder pressure and piston volume displacement obtained during the perturbations are low - pass filtered and stored on a computer for analysis using the constant phase model ( 39 - 41 ). newtonian resistance or airway resistance ( raw ) of the constant phase model represents the resistance of the central airways . tissue damping ( g ) is closely related to tissue resistance and reflects the energy dissipation in the lung tissues . the parameter h is closely related to tissue elastance and reflects the energy conservation in the lung tissues . the pressure - volume curve is obtained during inflation and deflation in a stepwise manner by applying volume perturbation incrementally during 16 seconds . the pressure signal is recorded and the pressure - volume ( p - v ) curve is calculated from the plateau of each step . the constant k was obtained using the salazar - knowles equation and reflects the curvature of the upper portion of the deflation pv curve . quasi - static elastance . quasi - static elastance reflects the static elastic recoil pressure of the lungs at a given lung volume . it is obtained by calculating the slope of the linear part of p - v curve . after the measurements , the animals were sacrificed , bronchoalveolar lavage fluid ( balf ) collected . the balf was centrifuged at 2000 rpm for 10 min and the supernatants stored at − 70 ° c . the lungs were then removed en bloc and formalin - fixed at a pressure of 25 cm water . the lungs were paraffin - embedded and sectioned at 4 μm thickness sections . sagittal sections were used from each animal for histological and immunohistochemical assessment of damage , and morphometric analysis ( mean linear intercept , lm ). morphometric assessment of lm was performed on sections deparaffinated ( using xylene and absolute ethanol followed by 90 % and 70 % and 50 % ethanol ) and then stained with haematoxylin and eosin . images from 10 fields per section were digitised using 10 × objective and the field size was 0 . 83 μm × 0 . 63 μm . histological assessment of elastic fibre damage was performed by staining deparaffinated tissue section ( using xylene and absolute ethanol followed by 90 % and 70 % and 50 % ethanol ) with resorcin - acid fuschin ( elastin products , u . s . a .) according to the manufacturer &# 39 ; s instructions . counter staining was performed using 0 . 5 % tartrazine in 0 . 25 % acetic acid . elastic fibres appear dark red or purple and the rest of the tissue appears yellow . tissue sections were deparaffinated using xylene and absolute ethanol followed by 90 % and 70 % ethanol . the sections were stained using the red apoptag ™ kit ( chemicon ) according to the manufacturer instructions . the principle of this technique relies on the addition of nucleosides at 3 ′- oh end of a piece of dna by tdt . the enzyme in the presence of divalent cation will transfer a nucleotide to the 3 ′- oh end whether it is blunt , protruding or recessed . the labelling tools in tunel method are very versatile . the tunel method used for detection of apoptosis utilising tdt tagged with digoxygenin - 11 - dutp and datp was used for end - extension of 3 ′- oh ends of double or single stranded dna . rhodamine labelled anti - digoxygenin was then used for immunohistochemical staining . it is worthwhile to mention that the digoxygenin / anti - digoxygenin labelling system is preferable over the avidin / biotin system due to its lower background . the former system signal yield is also 38 - fold more intense than the latter . in conjunction with tunel , dapi was used as a fluorescent nuclear counterstain . quantification of apoptotic nuclei ( stained positively ) is performed using confocal microscopy using × 40 objective . images were acquired by stacking ( 4 × 4 ) which account for a total area of 0 . 921 mm × 0 . 921 mm from a section of 8 mm × 8 nm . the number of alveolar walls intercepting a horizontal and a vertical line was counted . mean linear intercept was calculated from each field ( horizontal and vertical ) by dividing the length of the line by the number of intercepts . positive controls were also used . sections were deparaffinated using xylene and absolute ethanol followed by 90 % and 70 % ethanol . tissue sections were then subjected to dnas treatment for 10 minutes at room temperature ( 2000 u / ml in 30 mm trizma base , ph 7 . 2 , 4 mm mgcl 2 , 0 . 1 mm dtt ). negative controls were included were sections were incubated only with the nucleotides in the absence of the reaction enzyme . our experiments demonstrate a novel finding which is that that an increase in ecm pgs anabolism can be achieved via functional modification of the cell surface β1 integrin and to a much lesser extent to neutralising tgfβ in both time - and dose - dependent manner in human lung explants and human lung derived cell co - cultures as well as pulmonary derived epithelial cell line . our experiments have demonstrated that the increase in ecm pgs was partially due to de novo protein synthesis . the changes were accompanied by an increase in timp1 , inactivation of mmp9 and decrease in mmp1 . we have also induced emphysematous injury in the lung using porcine pancreatic elastase . elastase induced a statistically significant two - three fold increase in the mean linear intercept ( lm ) accompanied by an increase in lung size . emphysematous mice treated by intratracheal dose of anti β1 integrin at day 12 , 14 or 21 showed marked reduction in lung size at day 19 - 21 and 35 . the change was accompanied by a significant reduction in the lm , improvement in lung function and restoration of elastic fibres . the changes were also accompanied by a decrease in cell death . we therefore postulate that β1 integrin functional modification may have caused loosening of cells from the underlying damaged ecm and thus modified its mechanosensing ( shock absorption ) in a manner permissible for repair to ensue . this mechanism could be in addition the above mechanisms involving alteration of mmp / timp balance . furthermore , porcine pancreatic elastase resulted in a decrease in active tgfβ1 in the bronchoalveolar lavage which appeared to be reversed by the treatment . the levels of active tgfβ1 exhibited a statistically significant correlation ( r = 0 . 96 , p & lt ; 0 . 01 ) with the lm . all documents referred to in this specification are herein incorporated by reference . various modifications and variations to the described embodiments of the inventions will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention . although the invention has been described in connection with specific preferred embodiments , it should be understood that the invention as claimed should not be unduly limited to such specific embodiments . indeed , various modifications of the described modes of carrying out the invention which are obvious to those skilled in the art are intended to be covered by the present invention . 1 . albuquerque m l and flozak a s . j cell physiol 195 : 50 - 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