A human lung organoid platform for studying radiation-induced pulmonary fibrosis and antifibrotic drug screening.

ABSTRACT: Radiation-induced pulmonary injury and fibrosis (RIPI/RIPF) is a major complication following thoracic radiotherapy, characterized by persistent inflammation and excessive extracellular matrix deposition leading to irreversible lung disease. The development of antifibrotic drugs has been limited by the lack of physiologically relevant in vitro models that mimic the complex lung microenvironment. In this study, we established a human embryonic stem cells-derived human lung organoids (hLOs) model, comprising major epithelial cell types, including AT1, AT2, goblet, basal, club, and ciliated cells. Following repeated irradiation, hLOs exhibited key features of RIPF, including impaired proliferation, epithelial barrier disruption, epithelial-mesenchymal transition, upregulation of profibrotic c

SUBMITTER: Park HR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12804188 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature