Proteolysis and Contractility Regulate Tissue Opening and Wound Healing by Lung Fibroblasts in 3D Microenvironments.

ABSTRACT: Damage and repair are recurring processes in tissues, with fibroblasts playing key roles by remodeling extracellular matrices (ECM) through protein synthesis, proteolysis, and cell contractility. Dysregulation of fibroblasts can lead to fibrosis and tissue damage, as seen in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). In advanced IPF, tissue damage manifests as honeycombing, or voids in the lungs. This study explores how transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β), a crucial factor in IPF, induces lung fibroblast spheroids to create voids in reconstituted collagen through proteolysis and cell contractility, a process we termed as hole formation. These voids reduce when proteases are blocked. Spheroids mimic fibroblast foci observed in IPF. Results indicate that cell contractility mediates tissue open

SUBMITTER: Xiao H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11617280 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature