Project description:We studied the role of p16INK4a+ fibroblasts in lung fibrosis. We used single cell RNA seq (scRNA-seq) to characterize p16INK4a+ fibroblasts in fibrotic lung.
Project description:Pulmonary fibrosis develops as a consequence of environmentally induced lung injury and/or an inherent disease susceptibility causing fibroblast activation, proliferation and extracellular matrix deposition. The study was undertaken to characterise global gene expression in pulmonary fibroblasts to better understand the mechanisms underlying the fibrotic fibroblast phenotype. Gene expression was evaluated in lung fibroblasts derived from ten controls (normal periphery of resected tumor), open lung biopsies from eight patients with interstitial lung disease associated with systemic sclerosis (fibrotic non specific interstitial pneumonia pattern on biopsy), and from three patients with usual interstitial pneumonia. Lung fibroblasts were grown to confluence in DMEM with 10% fetal calf serum. At confluence, lung fibroblasts were serum-deprived for 44 hours in the presence of fibroblast growth medium with the addition of 0.1% bovine serum albumin (Sigma).
Project description:The activation and accumulation of lung fibroblasts, leading to excessive extracellular matrix (ECM) deposition, is a pathogenic hallmark of Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF), a lethal and currently incurable disease. The collagen-rich fibrotic ECM perpetuates fibroblast activation and accumulation, which includes the promotion of podosome formation and ECM invasion. Proteoglycans (PGs), a significant component of the interstitial ECM, fine-tune the overall tissue architecture determined by fibrous proteins and regulate several ECM-controlled signalling pathways. In this report, increased expression of Versican (VCAN ), a multifunctional PG, was detected in human and mouse pulmonary fibrosis, predominantly in monocytic cells and fibroblasts. Genetic reduction of Vcan expression in mice promoted collagen expression and modulated pulmonary ECM composition and structure, exacerbating pulmonary fibrosis and delaying its resolution. Reduced ECM Vcan levels resulted in longer, thicker, and more tangled collagen fibrils, which stimulated podosome formation in fibroblasts and their ECM invasion. Moreover, the decrease of Vcan in the ECM and the ensuing reorganisation stimulated Tenascin-C (TNC) expression from fibroblasts, which was further shown to be a potent, TLR4-dependent, autologous podosome inducer, promoting ECM invasion. Thus, Vcan expression from fibroblasts serves as an autologous fibrotic brake, controlling the underlying ECM composition, structure and mechanotransduction, and suppressing fibroblast invasion and pulmonary fibrosis.
Project description:Pulmonary fibrosis develops as a consequence of environmentally induced lung injury and/or an inherent disease susceptibility causing fibroblast activation, proliferation and extracellular matrix deposition. The study was undertaken to characterise global gene expression in pulmonary fibroblasts to better understand the mechanisms underlying the fibrotic fibroblast phenotype.
Project description:Progressive tissue fibrosis is a major cause of morbidity, and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a terminal illness characterized by unremitting matrix deposition in the lung with very limited choice of therapies. The imcomplete understanding of the mechanisms of progressive fibrosis curbs the progress in therapeutics development. Of which, the origin of fibrotic fibroblasts has been poorly defined during the pathogenesis of tissue fibrosis. Here, we fate-mapped a early embryonic transcription factor T-box gene 4 (Tbx4)-derived mesenchymal progenitors in injured adult lung and found that Tbx4+ lineage cells are the major source of myofibroblasts. The ablation of Tbx4+ cells or disruption of Tbx4 signaling attenuated lung fibrosis in bleomycin injury model in mice in vivo. Furthermore, Tbx4+ fibroblasts are more invasive and the regulation of fibroblast invasiveness by Tbx4 is through mediating hyaluronan synthase 2 (HAS2). This study identified a major mesenchymal transcription factor driving the development of fibrotic fibroblasts during lung fibrosis. Understanding the origin, signaling, and functions of these fibroblasts would prove pivotal in the development of therapeutics for patients with progressive fibrotic diseases. We used microarrays to detail the gene expression of Tbx4 and non-Tbx4 cultured fibroblasts.
Project description:p16INK4A inhibits the CDK4/6 kinases and is therefore an important cell cycle regulator. Accumulation of p16INK4A in response to oncogenic transformation leads to cellular senescence and it is therefore frequently lost in cancer. p16INK4A is also known to accumulate under conditions of cellular oxidative stress and therefore could potentially be regulated by redox signaling, which is a form of signal transduction that is mediated by the reversible oxidation of cysteine-thiol side chains in proteins. We found that oxidation of the single cysteine residue in p16INK4A in human cells occurs under relatively mild oxidizing conditions and that this leads to disulfide dependent dimerization. p16INK4A is a well-characterized all alpha-helical protein, but we find that upon cysteine-dependent dimerization, p16INK4A undergoes a dramatic structural rearrangement and forms aggregates that have the typical features of amyloid fibrils, including binding of diagnostic dyes, presence of cross-β sheet structure, and typical dimensions found in electron microscopy. We find that p16INK4A amyloid formation abolishes its function as a CDK4/6 inhibitor in human cells. Taken together, these observations mechanistically link the cellular redox state to the inactivation of p16INK4A through the formation of amyloid fibrils.
Project description:Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a fatal fibrotic lung disease characterized by impaired fibroblast clearance, accumulation, and excessive extracellular matrix (ECM) protein production. Wilms' Tumor 1 (WT1), a transcription factor, is selectively upregulated in IPF fibroblasts. However, the mechanisms by which WT1 contributes to fibroblast accumulation and ECM production remain unknown. Here, we investigated the heterogeneity of WT1-expressing fibroblasts using single-nucleus RNA sequencing on the distal lung tissues of IPF patients and healthy controls. WT1 was selectively upregulated in a subset of IPF fibroblasts that co-expressed several pro-survival genes. Both the loss-of-function and gain-of-function studies support the idea that WT1 functions as a positive regulator of multiple pro-survival genes to impair apoptotic clearance and promote ECM production. In support, fibroblast-specific overexpression of WT1 augmented fibroproliferation, myofibroblast accumulation, and ECM production during bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis in both young and old mice. Together, these findings identify WT1 as a potential therapeutic target to attenuate fibroblast expansion, and ECM production in the distal areas of fibrosing lungs.