Aclidinium inhibits cigarette smoke-induced lung fibroblast-to-myofibroblast transition.

Cigarette smoking contributes to lung remodelling in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). As part of this remodelling, peribronchiolar fibrosis is observed in the small airways of COPD patients and contributes to airway obstruction. Fibroblast-to-myofibroblast transition is a key step in peribronchiolar fibrosis formation. This in vitro study examined the effect of cigarette smoke on bronchial fibroblast-to-myofibroblast transition, and whether aclidinium bromide inhibits this process. Human bronchial fibroblasts were incubated with aclidinium bromide (10 −9 –10 −7 M) and exposed to cigarette smoke extract. Collagen type I and α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) expression were measured …