Project description:Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a chronic progressive fibrotic lung disease associated with significant morbidity and mortality. We identified a combinatorial signature of 5 proteins that was sufficient to distinguish IPF patients from controls; of these proteins MMP7 and MMP1 exhibited significantly higher values in both peripheral blood concentrations and lung tissue gene expression, suggesting their role as true biomarkers. Keywords: disease versus control
Project description:Peripheral blood biomarkers are needed to identify and determine the extent of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). Current physiologic and radiographic prognostic indicators diagnose IPF too late in the course of disease. These results demonstrate that the peripheral blood transcriptome can distinguish normal individuals from patients with IPF, as well as extent of disease when samples were classified by percent predicted DLCO, but not FVC.
Project description:Peripheral blood biomarkers are needed to identify and determine the extent of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). Current physiologic and radiographic prognostic indicators diagnose IPF too late in the course of disease. These results demonstrate that the peripheral blood transcriptome can distinguish normal individuals from patients with IPF, as well as extent of disease when samples were classified by percent predicted DLCO, but not FVC. Gene expression profiles of peripheral blood RNA from 93 IPF patients were collected on Agilent microarrays. Blood was collected in PAXRNA tubes. 30 healthy controls are compared to IPF patients classified by disease severity when categorized by DLCO or FVC.
Project description:Lung cancer is a fatal complication of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) with a poor prognosis. Current treatments are insufficient in improving the prognosis of lung cancer patients with comorbid idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF-LC). Senescent fibroblasts play a pivotal role within the tumor microenvironment, influencing tumor progression by secreted exosomes. With evidence that fibroblast senescence is an important mechanism of IPF, we sought to investigate the impact of senescent IPF lung fibroblast-derived exosomes on non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Our results show that IPF fibroblasts (diseased human lung fibroblasts, DHLF) express significant senescence markers, promoting NSCLC proliferation, invasion, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition. Specifically, we observed senescent DHLFs secret more exosomes (DHLF-exosomes), which could enhance proliferation and colony-forming ability of cancer cells. Proteomic analysis of DHLF-exosomes identified upregulation of SASP factors, notably MMP1, which activates the surface receptor PAR1. Knocking down MMP1 or using PAR1 inhibitors reduced the tumor-promoting effects of DHLF-exosomes in vivo and in vitro. Mechanistically, MMP1 acted via activating the PI3K-AKT-mTOR pathway. In conclusion, our results suggest that exosomal MMP1 derived from senescent IPF fibroblasts promotes NSCLC proliferation and colony formation by targeting PAR1 and activating the PI3K-AKT-mTOR pathway. These findings provide a novel therapeutic approach for patients with IPF-LC.
Project description:Rationale: Fibrotic hypersensitivity pneumonitis is a debilitating interstitial lung disease driven by incompletely understood immune mechanisms. Objectives: To elucidate immune aberrations in fibrotic hypersensitivity pneumonitis in single-cell resolution. Methods: Single-cell 5’ RNA sequencing was conducted on peripheral blood mononuclear cells and bronchoalveolar lavage cells obtained from 45 patients with fibrotic hypersensitivity pneumonitis, 63 idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, 4 non-fibrotic hypersensitivity pneumonitis, and 36 healthy controls in the United States and Mexico. Analyses included differential gene expression (Seurat), transcription factor activity imputation (DoRothEA-VIPER), and trajectory analyses (Monocle3/Velocyto-scVelo-CellRank). Measurements and Main Results: Overall, 501,534 peripheral blood mononuclear cells from 110 patients and controls and 88,336 bronchoalveolar lavage cells from 19 patients were profiled. Compared to controls, fibrotic hypersensitivity pneumonitis has elevated classical monocytes (adjusted-p=2.5e-3) and are enriched in CCL3hi/CCL4hi and S100Ahi classical monocytes (adjusted-p<2.2e-16). Trajectory analyses demonstrate that S100Ahi classical monocytes differentiate into SPP1hi lung macrophages associated with fibrosis. Compared to both controls and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, fibrotic hypersensitivity pneumonitis patient cells are significantly enriched in GZMhi cytotoxic T cells. These cells exhibit transcription factor activities indicative of TGFb and TNFa/NFkB pathways. These results are publicly available at https://ildimmunecellatlas.org. Conclusions: Single-cell transcriptomics of fibrotic hypersensitivity pneumonitis patients uncovered novel immune perturbations, including previously undescribed increases in GZMhi cytotoxic CD4+ and CD8+ T cells – reflecting this disease’s unique inflammatory T-cell driven nature – as well as increased S100Ahi and CCL3hi/CCL4hi classical monocytes also observed in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Both cell populations may guide the development of new biomarkers and therapeutic interventions.
Project description:We performed a single-cell transcriptome analysis of basal-like cells cultured from peripheral lung tissue of patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF).
Project description:We performed a single-cell transcriptome analysis of alveolar basal cells from peripheral lung tissue of patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), cultured in DMEM or Cnt-PR-A growth medium.