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Seasock MJ, Shafiquzzaman M, Ruiz-Echartea ME, Kanchi RS, Tran BT, Simon LM, Meyer MD, Erice PA, Lotlikar SL, Wenlock SC, Ochsner SA, Enright A, Carisey AF, Romero F, Rosas IO, King KY, McKenna NJ, Coarfa C, Rodriguez A. Let-7 restrains an oncogenic epigenetic circuit in AT2 cells to prevent ectopic formation of fibrogenic transitional cell intermediates and pulmonary fibrosis. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.05.22.595205. [PMID: 38826218 PMCID: PMC11142151 DOI: 10.1101/2024.05.22.595205] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/04/2024]
Abstract
Analysis of lung alveolar type 2 (AT2) progenitor stem cells has highlighted fundamental mechanisms that direct their differentiation into alveolar type 1 cells (AT1s) in lung repair and disease. However, microRNA (miRNA) mediated post-transcriptional mechanisms which govern this nexus remain understudied. We show here that the let-7 miRNA family serves a homeostatic role in governance of AT2 quiescence, specifically by preventing the uncontrolled accumulation of AT2 transitional cells and by promoting AT1 differentiation to safeguard the lung from spontaneous alveolar destruction and fibrosis. Using mice and organoid models with genetic ablation of let-7a1/let-7f1/let-7d cluster (let-7afd) in AT2 cells, we demonstrate prevents AT1 differentiation and results in aberrant accumulation of AT2 transitional cells in progressive pulmonary fibrosis. Integration of enhanced AGO2 UV-crosslinking and immunoprecipitation sequencing (AGO2-eCLIP) with RNA-sequencing from AT2 cells uncovered the induction of direct targets of let-7 in an oncogene feed-forward regulatory network including BACH1/EZH2 which drives an aberrant fibrotic cascade. Additional analyses by CUT&RUN-sequencing revealed loss of let-7afd hampers AT1 differentiation by eliciting aberrant histone EZH2 methylation which prevents the exit of AT2 transitional cells into terminal AT1s. This study identifies let-7 as a key gatekeeper of post-transcriptional and epigenetic chromatin signals to prevent AT2-driven pulmonary fibrosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew J. Seasock
- Immunology & Microbiology Graduate Program, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, 77030
- Department of Medicine, Immunology & Allergy Rheumatology, Baylor College of Medicine Houston TX, 77030
| | - Md Shafiquzzaman
- Department of Medicine, Immunology & Allergy Rheumatology, Baylor College of Medicine Houston TX, 77030
| | - Maria E. Ruiz-Echartea
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, 77030
| | - Rupa S. Kanchi
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, 77030
- Dan L. Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center, Baylor College of Medicine Houston, TX, 77030
| | - Brandon T. Tran
- Graduate Program in Translational Biology and Molecular Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, 77030
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Infectious Diseases, Texas Children’s Hospital, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, 77030
| | - Lukas M. Simon
- Therapeutic Innovation Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, 77030
| | | | - Phillip A. Erice
- Immunology & Microbiology Graduate Program, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, 77030
- Department of Medicine, Immunology & Allergy Rheumatology, Baylor College of Medicine Houston TX, 77030
| | - Shivani L. Lotlikar
- Department of Medicine, Immunology & Allergy Rheumatology, Baylor College of Medicine Houston TX, 77030
| | | | - Scott A. Ochsner
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, 77030
| | - Anton Enright
- Department of Pathology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 1TN, UK
| | - Alex F. Carisey
- William T. Shearer Center for Immunobiology, Texas Children’s Hospital, Houston, TX, 77030
- Current Address: Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, TN
| | - Freddy Romero
- Department of Medicine, Section of Pulmonary and Critical Care, Baylor College of Medicine. Houston, TX, 77030
- Current Address: Vertex Pharmaceuticals, 3215 Merryfield Row, San Diego, CA, 92121
| | - Ivan O. Rosas
- Department of Medicine, Section of Pulmonary and Critical Care, Baylor College of Medicine. Houston, TX, 77030
| | - Katherine Y. King
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Infectious Diseases, Texas Children’s Hospital, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, 77030
| | - Neil J. McKenna
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, 77030
| | - Cristian Coarfa
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, 77030
- Dan L. Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center, Baylor College of Medicine Houston, TX, 77030
| | - Antony Rodriguez
- Department of Medicine, Immunology & Allergy Rheumatology, Baylor College of Medicine Houston TX, 77030
- Dan L. Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center, Baylor College of Medicine Houston, TX, 77030
- Center for Translational Research on Inflammatory Diseases, Michael E. Debakey, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, 77030
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Islam MA, Getz M, Macklin P, Ford Versypt AN. An agent-based modeling approach for lung fibrosis in response to COVID-19. PLoS Comput Biol 2023; 19:e1011741. [PMID: 38127835 PMCID: PMC10769079 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1011741] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2023] [Revised: 01/05/2024] [Accepted: 12/05/2023] [Indexed: 12/23/2023] Open
Abstract
The severity of the COVID-19 pandemic has created an emerging need to investigate the long-term effects of infection on patients. Many individuals are at risk of suffering pulmonary fibrosis due to the pathogenesis of lung injury and impairment in the healing mechanism. Fibroblasts are the central mediators of extracellular matrix (ECM) deposition during tissue regeneration, regulated by anti-inflammatory cytokines including transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β). The TGF-β-dependent accumulation of fibroblasts at the damaged site and excess fibrillar collagen deposition lead to fibrosis. We developed an open-source, multiscale tissue simulator to investigate the role of TGF-β sources in the progression of lung fibrosis after SARS-CoV-2 exposure, intracellular viral replication, infection of epithelial cells, and host immune response. Using the model, we predicted the dynamics of fibroblasts, TGF-β, and collagen deposition for 15 days post-infection in virtual lung tissue. Our results showed variation in collagen area fractions between 2% and 40% depending on the spatial behavior of the sources (stationary or mobile), the rate of activation of TGF-β, and the duration of TGF-β sources. We identified M2 macrophages as primary contributors to higher collagen area fraction. Our simulation results also predicted fibrotic outcomes even with lower collagen area fraction when spatially-localized latent TGF-β sources were active for longer times. We validated our model by comparing simulated dynamics for TGF-β, collagen area fraction, and macrophage cell population with independent experimental data from mouse models. Our results showed that partial removal of TGF-β sources changed the fibrotic patterns; in the presence of persistent TGF-β sources, partial removal of TGF-β from the ECM significantly increased collagen area fraction due to maintenance of chemotactic gradients driving fibroblast movement. The computational findings are consistent with independent experimental and clinical observations of collagen area fractions and cell population dynamics not used in developing the model. These critical insights into the activity of TGF-β sources may find applications in the current clinical trials targeting TGF-β for the resolution of lung fibrosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohammad Aminul Islam
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, Buffalo, New York, United States of America
| | - Michael Getz
- Department of Intelligent Systems Engineering, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, United States of America
| | - Paul Macklin
- Department of Intelligent Systems Engineering, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, United States of America
| | - Ashlee N. Ford Versypt
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, Buffalo, New York, United States of America
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, Buffalo, New York, United States of America
- Institute for Artificial Intelligence and Data Science, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, Buffalo, New York, United States of America
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Weckerle J, Mayr CH, Fundel-Clemens K, Lämmle B, Boryn L, Thomas MJ, Bretschneider T, Luippold AH, Huber HJ, Viollet C, Rist W, Veyel D, Ramirez F, Klee S, Kästle M. Transcriptomic and Proteomic Changes Driving Pulmonary Fibrosis Resolution in Young and Old Mice. Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol 2023; 69:422-440. [PMID: 37411041 DOI: 10.1165/rcmb.2023-0012oc] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2023] [Accepted: 07/06/2023] [Indexed: 07/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis in mice mimics major hallmarks of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Yet in this model, it spontaneously resolves over time. We studied molecular mechanisms of fibrosis resolution and lung repair, focusing on transcriptional and proteomic signatures and the effect of aging. Old mice showed incomplete and delayed lung function recovery 8 weeks after bleomycin instillation. This shift in structural and functional repair in old bleomycin-treated mice was reflected in a temporal shift in gene and protein expression. We reveal gene signatures and signaling pathways that underpin the lung repair process. Importantly, the downregulation of WNT, BMP, and TGFβ antagonists Frzb, Sfrp1, Dkk2, Grem1, Fst, Fstl1, and Inhba correlated with lung function improvement. Those genes constitute a network with functions in stem cell pathways, wound, and pulmonary healing. We suggest that insufficient and delayed downregulation of those antagonists during fibrosis resolution in old mice explains the impaired regenerative outcome. Together, we identified signaling pathway molecules with relevance to lung regeneration that should be tested in-depth experimentally as potential therapeutic targets for pulmonary fibrosis.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Bärbel Lämmle
- Global Computational Biology and Digital Sciences, and
| | | | | | - Tom Bretschneider
- Department of Drug Discovery Sciences, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co. KG, Biberach an der Riß, Germany; and
| | - Andreas H Luippold
- Department of Drug Discovery Sciences, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co. KG, Biberach an der Riß, Germany; and
| | | | | | - Wolfgang Rist
- Department of Drug Discovery Sciences, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co. KG, Biberach an der Riß, Germany; and
| | - Daniel Veyel
- Department of Drug Discovery Sciences, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co. KG, Biberach an der Riß, Germany; and
| | - Fidel Ramirez
- Global Computational Biology and Digital Sciences, and
| | - Stephan Klee
- Department of Immunology and Respiratory Disease Research
| | - Marc Kästle
- Department of Immunology and Respiratory Disease Research
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Lv J, Gao H, Ma J, Liu J, Tian Y, Yang C, Li M, Zhao Y, Li Z, Zhang X, Zhu Y, Zhang J, Wu L. Dynamic atlas of immune cells reveals multiple functional features of macrophages associated with progression of pulmonary fibrosis. Front Immunol 2023; 14:1230266. [PMID: 37771586 PMCID: PMC10525351 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1230266] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2023] [Accepted: 08/24/2023] [Indexed: 09/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a chronic interstitial lung disease with a high mortality rate and unclarified aetiology. Immune response is elaborately regulated during the progression of IPF, but immune cells subsets are complicated which has not been detailed described during IPF progression. Therefore, in the current study, we sought to investigate the role of immune regulation by elaborately characterize the heterogeneous of immune cells during the progression of IPF. To this end, we performed single-cell profiling of lung immune cells isolated from four stages of bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis-a classical mouse model that mimics human IPF. The results revealed distinct components of immune cells in different phases of pulmonary fibrosis and close communication between macrophages and other immune cells along with pulmonary fibrosis progression. Enriched signals of SPP1, CCL5 and CXCL2 were found between macrophages and other immune cells. The more detailed definition of the subpopulations of macrophages defined alveolar macrophages (AMs) and monocyte-derived macrophages (mo-Macs)-the two major types of primary lung macrophages-exhibited the highest heterogeneity and dynamic changes in expression of profibrotic genes during disease progression. Our analysis suggested that Gpnmb and Trem2 were both upregulated in macrophages and may play important roles in pulmonary fibrosis progression. Additionally, the metabolic status of AMs and mo-Macs varied with disease progression. In line with the published data on human IPF, macrophages in the mouse model shared some features regarding gene expression and metabolic status with that of macrophages in IPF patients. Our study provides new insights into the pathological features of profibrotic macrophages in the lung that will facilitate the identification of new targets for disease intervention and treatment of IPF.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiaoyan Lv
- Institute for Immunology, Tsinghua-Peking Joint Centre for Life Sciences, School of Medicine, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - Haoxiang Gao
- Department of Automation, Ministry of Education (MOE) Key Laboratory of Bioinformatics, Bioinformatics Division and Centre for Synthetic & Systems Biology, BNRist, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - Jie Ma
- State Key Laboratory of Proteomics, Beijing Proteome Research Center, National Center for Protein Sciences (Beijing), Beijing Institute of Lifeomics, Beijing, China
| | - Jiachen Liu
- Institute for Immunology, Tsinghua-Peking Joint Centre for Life Sciences, School of Medicine, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - Yujie Tian
- Institute for Immunology, Tsinghua-Peking Joint Centre for Life Sciences, School of Medicine, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - Chunyuan Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Proteomics, Beijing Proteome Research Center, National Center for Protein Sciences (Beijing), Beijing Institute of Lifeomics, Beijing, China
| | - Mansheng Li
- State Key Laboratory of Proteomics, Beijing Proteome Research Center, National Center for Protein Sciences (Beijing), Beijing Institute of Lifeomics, Beijing, China
| | - Yue Zhao
- Annoroad Gene Technology (Beijing) Co., Ltd., Beijing, China
| | - Zhimin Li
- Annoroad Gene Technology (Beijing) Co., Ltd., Beijing, China
| | - Xuegong Zhang
- Department of Automation, Ministry of Education (MOE) Key Laboratory of Bioinformatics, Bioinformatics Division and Centre for Synthetic & Systems Biology, BNRist, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
- School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - Yunping Zhu
- State Key Laboratory of Proteomics, Beijing Proteome Research Center, National Center for Protein Sciences (Beijing), Beijing Institute of Lifeomics, Beijing, China
| | - Jianhong Zhang
- Institute for Immunology, Tsinghua-Peking Joint Centre for Life Sciences, School of Medicine, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
- Beijing Key Laboratory for Immunological Research on Chronic Diseases, Beijing, China
| | - Li Wu
- Institute for Immunology, Tsinghua-Peking Joint Centre for Life Sciences, School of Medicine, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
- Beijing Key Laboratory for Immunological Research on Chronic Diseases, Beijing, China
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Wang S, Kim SY, Sohn KA. ClearF++: Improved Supervised Feature Scoring Using Feature Clustering in Class-Wise Embedding and Reconstruction. Bioengineering (Basel) 2023; 10:824. [PMID: 37508851 PMCID: PMC10376817 DOI: 10.3390/bioengineering10070824] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2023] [Revised: 06/28/2023] [Accepted: 07/04/2023] [Indexed: 07/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Feature selection methods are essential for accurate disease classification and identifying informative biomarkers. While information-theoretic methods have been widely used, they often exhibit limitations such as high computational costs. Our previously proposed method, ClearF, addresses these issues by using reconstruction error from low-dimensional embeddings as a proxy for the entropy term in the mutual information. However, ClearF still has limitations, including a nontransparent bottleneck layer selection process, which can result in unstable feature selection. To address these limitations, we propose ClearF++, which simplifies the bottleneck layer selection and incorporates feature-wise clustering to enhance biomarker detection. We compare its performance with other commonly used methods such as MultiSURF and IFS, as well as ClearF, across multiple benchmark datasets. Our results demonstrate that ClearF++ consistently outperforms these methods in terms of prediction accuracy and stability, even with limited samples. We also observe that employing the Deep Embedded Clustering (DEC) algorithm for feature-wise clustering improves performance, indicating its suitability for handling complex data structures with limited samples. ClearF++ offers an improved biomarker prioritization approach with enhanced prediction performance and faster execution. Its stability and effectiveness with limited samples make it particularly valuable for biomedical data analysis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sehee Wang
- Department of Artificial Intelligence, Ajou University, Suwon 16499, Republic of Korea
| | - So Yeon Kim
- Department of Artificial Intelligence, Ajou University, Suwon 16499, Republic of Korea
- Department of Software and Computer Engineering, Ajou University, Suwon 16499, Republic of Korea
| | - Kyung-Ah Sohn
- Department of Artificial Intelligence, Ajou University, Suwon 16499, Republic of Korea
- Department of Software and Computer Engineering, Ajou University, Suwon 16499, Republic of Korea
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Ayilya BL, Balde A, Ramya M, Benjakul S, Kim SK, Nazeer RA. Insights on the mechanism of bleomycin to induce lung injury and associated in vivo models: A review. Int Immunopharmacol 2023; 121:110493. [PMID: 37331299 DOI: 10.1016/j.intimp.2023.110493] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2023] [Revised: 05/24/2023] [Accepted: 06/09/2023] [Indexed: 06/20/2023]
Abstract
Acute lung injury leads to the development of chronic conditions such as idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma as well as alveolar sarcoma. Various investigations are being performed worldwide to understand the pathophysiology of these diseases, develop novel bioactive compounds and inhibitors to target the ailment. Generally, in vivo models are used to understand the disease outcome and therapeutic suppressing effects for which the animals are chemically or physically induced to mimic the onset of definite disease conditions. Amongst the chemical inducing agents, Bleomycin (BLM) is the most successful inducer. It is reported to target various receptors and activate inflammatory pathways, cellular apoptosis, epithelial mesenchymal transition leading to the release of inflammatory cytokines, and proteases. Mice is one of the most widely used animal model for BLM induced pulmonary associated studies apart from rat, rabbit, sheep, pig, and monkey. Although, there is considerable variation amongst in vivo studies for BLM induction which suggests a detailed study on the same to understand the mechanism of action of BLM at molecular level. Hence, herein we have reviewed various chemical inducers, mechanism of action of BLM in inducing lung injury in vivo, its advantages and disadvantages. Further, we have also discussed the rationale behind various in vivo models and recent development in BLM induction for various animals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bakthavatchalam Loganathan Ayilya
- Biopharmaceuticals Lab, Department of Biotechnology, School of Bioengineering, SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Kattankulathur 603203, Tamil Nadu, India
| | - Akshad Balde
- Biopharmaceuticals Lab, Department of Biotechnology, School of Bioengineering, SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Kattankulathur 603203, Tamil Nadu, India
| | - Murugadoss Ramya
- Biopharmaceuticals Lab, Department of Biotechnology, School of Bioengineering, SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Kattankulathur 603203, Tamil Nadu, India
| | - Soottawat Benjakul
- Department of Food Technology, Faculty of Agro-Industry, Prince of Songkhla University, 90112 Hat Yai, Songkhla, Thailand
| | - Se-Kwon Kim
- Department of Marine Science and Convergence Engineering, Hanyang University, Ansan 11558, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea
| | - Rasool Abdul Nazeer
- Biopharmaceuticals Lab, Department of Biotechnology, School of Bioengineering, SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Kattankulathur 603203, Tamil Nadu, India.
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Pilling D, Sahlberg K, Chen W, Gomer RH. Changes in lung sialidases in male and female mice after bleomycin aspiration. Exp Lung Res 2022; 48:291-304. [PMID: 36382835 PMCID: PMC10084762 DOI: 10.1080/01902148.2022.2144548] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2022] [Revised: 10/31/2022] [Accepted: 11/02/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Aim of the study: Sialidases, also called neuraminidases, are enzymes that cleave terminal sialic acids from glycoconjugates. In humans and mice, lung fibrosis is associated with desialylation of glycoconjugates and upregulation of sialidases. There are four mammalian sialidases, and it is unclear when the four mammalian sialidases are elevated over the course of inflammatory and fibrotic responses, whether tissue resident and inflammatory cells express different sialidases, and if sialidases are differentially expressed in male and females. Materials and Methods: To determine the time course of sialidase expression and the identity of sialidase expressing cells, we used the bleomycin model of pulmonary fibrosis in mice to examine levels of sialidases during inflammation (days 3 - 10) and fibrosis (days 10 - 21). Results: Bleomycin aspiration increased sialidase NEU1 at days 14 and 21 in male mice and day 10 in female mice. NEU2 levels increased at day 7 in male and day 10 in female mice. NEU3 appears to have a biphasic response in male mice with increased levels at day 7 and then at days 14 and 21, whereas in female mice NEU3 levels increased over 21 days. In control mice, the sialidases were mainly expressed by EpCAM positive epithelial cells, but after bleomycin, epithelial cells, CD45 positive immune cells, and alveolar cells expressed NEU1, NEU2, and NEU3. Sialidase expression was higher in male compared to female mice. There was little expression of NEU4 in murine lung tissue. Conclusions: These results suggest that sialidases are dynamically expressed following bleomycin, that sialidases are differentially expressed in male and females, and that of the four sialidases only NEU3 upregulation is associated with fibrosis in both male and female mice.
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