A Focus on "Eye on" Channels in Pulmonary Fibrosis.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Scheraga RG
PROVIDER: S-EPMC6993549 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:Kidney transplant recipients are at high risk of developing severe COVID-19 due to the coexistence of several transplant-related comorbidities (e.g., cardiovascular disease, diabetes) and chronic immunosuppression. As a consequence, a large part of SARS-CoV-2 infected patients have been managed with a reduction of immunosuppression. The mTOR-I, together with antimetabolites, have been often discontinued in order to minimize the risk of pulmonary toxicity and to antagonize pharmacological interaction with antiviral/anti-inflammatory drugs. However, at our opinion, this therapeutic strategy, although justified in kidney transplant recipients with severe COVID-19, should be carefully evaluated in asymptomatic/paucisymptomatic patients in order to avoid the onset of acute allograft rejections, to potentially exploit the mTOR-I antiviral properties, to reduce proliferation of conventional T lymphocytes (which could mitigate the cytokine storm) and to preserve Treg growth/activity which could reduce the risk of progression to severe disease. In this review, we discuss the current literature regarding the therapeutic potential of mTOR-Is in kidney transplant recipients with COVID-19 with a focus on pulmonary fibrosis.
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Project description:Background and objectiveIdiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a chronic, progressive, fibrotic interstitial pneumonia, which is the commonest type of idiopathic interstitial pneumonia in the clinic. For most patients, the course of the disease is slow and prolonged, but a percentage of them develop an acute respiratory worsening during the disease, known as an acute exacerbation of IPF (AE-IPF). The updated guidelines define AE-IPF as an acute worsening of dyspnea in an IPF patient within 1 month and exclude other conditions such as left heart failure and pulmonary embolism. However, the prevention and treatment of AE-IPF are still unclear. Based on the high mortality rate caused by AE, in this article, we will focus on the latest research advances in AE-IPF treatment strategies and provide a comprehensive review of its pathogenesis, risk factors, clinical features, and diagnosis.MethodsThis study searched for relevant literature published from 2018 to 2023 in the PubMed database. The search terms used were as follows: "Acute exacerbation", "Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis", "Biomarker", "Pathogenesis", "Treatment", "HRCT", "Antifibrotic", "Infection", "Immunosuppressant", "Autoantibody", "Oxygen therapy", "Hemoperfusion", "Inflammation".Key content and findingsThe review found that corticosteroids are still the primary treatment strategy at present, although there is some controversy regarding the dosing and tapering of corticosteroids. However, corticosteroids combined with intravenous cyclophosphamide have been shown to be detrimental to the prognosis of patients with AE-IPF. Given its deadly high mortality rate, early intervention is crucial. Pirfenidone and nintedanib have been proven to reduce incidence of AE. Meanwhile, in the future, the lung microbiome may also be a break-through.ConclusionsThis study reviewed the pathogenesis and risk factors of AE-IPF and updated the current and potential treatment strategies regarding AE-IPF. The pathogenesis of AE-IPF is not exact, multiple mechanisms may be involved simultaneously. Corticosteroids remain the mainstream treatment modality in the medical treatment of AE-IFP. Many other treatment modalities have been proposed in succession, but no clear conclusions can be drawn about the effectiveness and safety of these interventions.
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Project description:The differentiation of fibroblasts into myofibroblasts is critical for the development of fibrotic disorders, including idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). Previously, we demonstrated that fibroblasts from patients with IPF exhibit changes in DNA methylation across the genome that contribute to a profibrotic phenotype. One of the top differentially methylated genes identified in our previous study was KCNMB1, which codes for the β subunit of the large-conductance potassium (BK, also known as MaxiK or KCa1.1) channel. Here, we examined how the expression of KCNMB1 differed between IPF fibroblasts and normal cells, and how BK channels affected myofibroblast differentiation. Fibroblasts from patients with IPF exhibited increased expression of KCNMB1, which corresponded to increased DNA methylation within the gene body. Patch-clamp experiments demonstrated that IPF fibroblasts had increased BK channel activity. Knockdown of KCNMB1 attenuated the ability of fibroblasts to contract collagen gels, and this was associated with a loss of α-smooth muscle actin (SMA) expression. Pharmacologic activation of BK channels stimulated α-SMA expression, whereas BK channel inhibitors blocked the upregulation of α-SMA. The ability of BK channels to enhance α-SMA expression was dependent on intracellular calcium, as activation of BK channels resulted in increased levels of intracellular calcium and the effects of BK agonists were abolished when calcium was removed. Together, our findings demonstrate that epigenetic upregulation of KCNMB1 contributes to increased BK channel activity in IPF fibroblasts, and identify a newfound role for BK channels in myofibroblast differentiation.
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Project description:The extracellular matrix (ECM) in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) drives fibrosis progression; however, the ECM composition of the fibroblastic focus (the hallmark lesion in IPF) and adjacent regions remains incompletely defined. Herein, we serially sectioned IPF lung specimens constructed into tissue microarrays and immunostained for ECM components reported to be deregulated in IPF. Immunostained sections were imaged, anatomically aligned, and 3D reconstructed. The myofibroblast core of the fibroblastic focus (defined by collagen I, α-smooth muscle actin, and procollagen I immunoreactivity) was associated with collagens III, IV, V, and VI; fibronectin; hyaluronan; and versican immunoreactivity. Hyaluronan immunoreactivity was also present at the fibroblastic focus perimeter and at sites where early lesions appear to be forming. Fibrinogen immunoreactivity was often observed at regions of damaged epithelium lining the airspace and the perimeter of the myofibroblast core but was absent from the myofibroblast core itself. The ECM components of the fibroblastic focus were distributed in a characteristic and reproducible manner in multiple patients. This information can inform the development of high-fidelity model systems to dissect mechanisms by which the IPF ECM drives fibrosis progression.
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Project description:Analysis of time-to-event data, otherwise known as survival analysis, is a common investigative tool in ophthalmic research. For example, time-to-event data is useful when researchers are interested in investigating how long it takes for an ocular condition to worsen or whether treatment can delay the development of a potentially vision-threatening complication. Its implementation requires a different set of statistical tools compared to those required for analyses of other continuous and categorial outcomes. In this installment of the Focus on Data series, we present an overview of selected concepts relating to analysis of time-to-event data in eye research. We introduce censoring, model selection, consideration of model assumptions, and best practice for reporting. We also consider challenges that commonly arise when analyzing time-to-event data in ophthalmic research, including collection of data from two eyes per person and the presence of multiple outcomes of interest. The concepts are illustrated using data from the Laser Intervention in Early Stages of Age-Related Macular Degeneration study and statistical computing code for Stata is provided to demonstrate the application of the statistical methods to illustrative data.
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Project description:Pulmonary fibrosis is a consequence of the pathological accumulation of extracellular matrix (ECM), which finally leads to lung scarring. Although the pulmonary fibrogenesis is almost known, the last two years of the COVID-19 pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and its post effects added new particularities which need to be explored. Many questions remain about how pulmonary fibrotic changes occur within the lungs of COVID-19 patients, and whether the changes will persist long term or are capable of resolving. This review brings together existing knowledge on both COVID-19 and pulmonary fibrosis, starting with the main key players in promoting pulmonary fibrosis, such as alveolar and endothelial cells, fibroblasts, lipofibroblasts, and macrophages. Further, we provide an overview of the main molecular mechanisms driving the fibrotic process in connection with Galactin-1, -3, -8, and -9, together with the currently approved and newly proposed clinical therapeutic solutions given for the treatment of fibrosis, based on their inhibition. The work underlines the particular pathways and processes that may be implicated in pulmonary fibrosis pathogenesis post-SARS-CoV-2 viral infection. The recent data suggest that galectin-1, -3, -8, and -9 could become valuable biomarkers for the diagnosis and prognosis of lung fibrosis post-COVID-19 and promising molecular targets for the development of new and original therapeutic tools to treat the disease.
| S-EPMC9332679 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a progressive and fatal interstitial lung disease. During the past decade, novel pathogenic mechanisms of IPF have been elucidated that have shifted the concept of IPF from an inflammatory-driven to an epithelial-driven disease. Dysregulated repair responses induced by recurrent epithelial cell damage and excessive extracellular matrix accumulation result in pulmonary fibrosis. Although there is currently no curative therapy for IPF, two medications, pirfenidone and nintedanib, have been introduced based on understanding the pathogenesis of the disease. In this review, we discuss advances in understanding IPF pathogenesis, highlighting epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), the ubiquitin-proteasome system, and endothelial cells. TGF-β is a central regulator involved in EMT and pulmonary fibrosis. HECT-, RING finger-, and U-box-type E3 ubiquitin ligases regulate TGF-β-Smad pathway-mediated EMT via the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway. p27 degradation mediated by the SCF-type E3 ligase, Skp2, contributes to the progression of pulmonary fibrosis by promotion of either mesenchymal fibroblast proliferation, EMT, or both. In addition to fibroblasts as key effector cells in myofibroblast differentiation and extracellular matrix deposition, endothelial cells also play a role in the processes of IPF. Endothelial cells can transform into myofibroblasts; therefore, endothelial-mesenchymal transition can be another source of myofibroblasts.
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Project description: Not available
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Project description:ObjectivesThe ability to process information about eye gaze and its use for nonverbal communication is foundational to human social interactions. We developed and validated a database of stimuli that are optimized to investigate the perception and referential understanding of shifts in eye gaze.MethodsThe 245 Gaze Perception stimuli are digital photographs that test the ability to estimate and interpret eye gaze trajectory. The 82 Gaze Following stimuli are digital videos that measure the ability to follow and interpret eye gaze shifts online. Both stimuli were designed for a 4-alternative forced choice paradigm (4AFC) in which the participant identifies the gazed-at object.ResultsEach stimulus was validated by independent raters and only included if the endorsement of the correct item was ≥75%. Finally, we provided timestamps for 19 40-second video segments from adolescent-oriented entertainment movies that are matched on several factors. These segments involve social interactions with eye gaze shifts and can be used to measure visual social attention.ConclusionsThis database will be an excellent resource for researchers interested in studying the developmental, behavioral, and/or neural mechanisms supporting the perception and interpretation of eye gaze cues.
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Project description:Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF)
| PRJNA802122 | ENA