Uncovering an antifibrotic Prrx1-lineage mesenchymal cell subpopulation in fibrotic lungs.

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a rare and fatal lung disease caused by progressive damage to alveolar epithelial cells, leading to abnormal activation of mesenchymal cells. The PRRX1 transcription factor (TF) has been found to be reactivated in IPF and was previously identified as a key mesenchymal TF in pulmonary fibrosis. In this study, we utilized the Prrx1:CreERT2; Rosa26iTomato murine transgenic line to further characterize the Prrx1-positive cell lineage in healthy and fibrotic lungs.

Identification of Paired-related Homeobox Protein 1 as a key mesenchymal transcription factor in pulmonary fibrosis.

Matrix remodeling is a salient feature of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). Targeting cells driving matrix remodeling could be a promising avenue for IPF treatment. Analysis of transcriptomic database identified the mesenchymal transcription factor PRRX1 as upregulated in IPF.

Origins of pathological myofibroblasts in lung fibrosis: insights from lineage tracing mouse models in the single-cell RNA sequencing era.

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a rare interstitial lung disease with a poor prognosis. Chronic microinjuries, mainly caused by environmental factors to an aging alveolar epithelium, would lead to the aberrant differentiation and accumulation of aberrant mesenchymal cells with a contractile phenotype, known as fibrosis-associated myofibroblasts, which trigger abnormal extracellular matrix accumulation and fibrosis. The origin of those pathological myofibroblasts in pulmonary fibrosis is not fully understood to date.

Blood fibrocytes are associated with severity and prognosis in COVID-19 pneumonia.

Increased blood fibrocytes are associated with a poor prognosis in fibrotic lung diseases. We aimed to determine whether the percentage of circulating fibrocytes could be predictive of severity and prognosis during coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pneumonia. Blood fibrocytes were quantified by flow cytometry as CD45/CD15/CD34/collagen-1 cells in patients hospitalized for COVID-19 pneumonia.

Chaotic activation of developmental signalling pathways drives idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is characterised by an important remodelling of lung parenchyma. Current evidence indicates that the disease is triggered by alveolar epithelium activation following chronic lung injury, resulting in alveolar epithelial type 2 cell hyperplasia and bronchiolisation of alveoli. Signals are then delivered to fibroblasts that undergo differentiation into myofibroblasts.

Sperm SPACA6 protein is required for mammalian Sperm-Egg Adhesion/Fusion.

Three genes are known to be essential for gamete adhesion/fusion (Cd9, Izumo1 and Juno). Here, we confirmed that Spaca6 null males are infertile and showed that their sperm accumulate in the perivitelline space but are unable to fuse with oocyte. Like IZUMO1, SPACA6 which is expressed by human sperm, is remained on the equatorial segment after acrosomal reaction and is involved in human fertilization since an anti-SPACA6 antibody inhibited it.