AUTHOR=Zhang Xue , Huang Haidi , Zhang Guanghua , Li Defang , Wang Hongbo , Jiang Wanglin TITLE=Raltegravir Attenuates Experimental Pulmonary Fibrosis In Vitro and In Vivo JOURNAL=Frontiers in Pharmacology VOLUME=Volume 10 - 2019 YEAR=2019 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/pharmacology/articles/10.3389/fphar.2019.00903 DOI=10.3389/fphar.2019.00903 ISSN=1663-9812 ABSTRACT=Raltegravir, an inhibitor of the human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) integrase, is used to treat HIV/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome; however, its therapeutic effects on pulmonary fibrosis have not been investigated. In this study, the effects of raltegravir on transforming growth factor beta 1-induced pulmonary fibrosis in vitro in L929 mouse fibroblasts were investigated. In addition, the effects of raltegravir on an in vivo pulmonary fibrosis model induced by intratracheal instillation of bleomycin were investigated. The proliferation of L929 cells was inhibited after raltegravir treatment. Meanwhile the protein expression of nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-like receptor 3 (NLRP3), high mobility group box 1 (HMGB1), toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), prolyl hydroxylase domain protein 2, phosphorylated nuclear factor-κB (p-NF-κB), hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α), collagen I, and collagen III was reduced relative to the model group both in vitro and in vivo. Raltegravir ameliorated pulmonary fibrosis by reducing the pathology score, collagen deposition, and expression of α-smooth muscle actin, NLRP3, HMGB1, TLR4, inhibitor of kappa B, p-NF-κB, HIF-1α, collagen I, and collagen III. The results of this study demonstrated that raltegravir attenuated experimental pulmonary fibrosis by inhibition of NLRP3 activation.