Ferret model of bleomycin-induced lung injury shares features of human idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

ABSTRACT: Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a debilitating lung disease with limited therapeutic options. The development of effective therapies has been hindered by the lack of models that recapitulate key features of human disease. Here we report a bleomycin-induced ferret PF model characterized by an irreversible decrease in pulmonary compliance and an increase of opacification, accompanied by "honeycomb cyst-like" structures and "proximalization" of distal lung epithelium. Cellular and molecular analysis by single-nucleus RNA sequencing revealed a significant shift in distal lung epithelium towards proximal epithelial phenotype. Importantly, a histopathological pattern of bronchiolization encompassing divergent atypical epithelial cells and KRT17⁺/TP63⁺/KRT5^low

SUBMITTER: Wu S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12132224 | biostudies-literature | 2025 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature