Clonal Expansion of Alveolar Fibroblast Progeny Drives Pulmonary Fibrosis.

ABSTRACT: Pulmonary fibrosis has been called a fibroproliferative disease but the functional importance of proliferating fibroblasts to pulmonary fibrosis has not been systematically examined. In response to alveolar injury, resting alveolar fibroblasts differentiate into fibrotic fibroblasts that express high levels of collagens. However, what role, if any, proliferation plays in the accumulation of fibrotic fibroblasts remains unclear. Through EdU incorporation, genetic lineage tracing, and single cell RNA sequencing, we resolve the proliferation dynamics of lung fibroblasts during post-injury fibrogenesis. Our data show substantial DNA replication in progeny of alveolar fibroblasts in two models of pulmonary fibrosis. By genetically labeling individual cells, we observe clonal expansion of alveol

SUBMITTER: Molina C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12157570 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature