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Updated: Jul 18, 2026
06:02
Development of an In Vitro Assay to Evaluate Contractile Function of Mesenchymal Cells that Underwent Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition
Published on: June 10, 2016
Epithelial-mesenchymal interactions in pulmonary fibrosis
Jeffrey C Horowitz1, Victor J Thannickal
1Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Michigan Medical Center, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA. jchorow@umich.edu
Seminars in Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine
|December 30, 2006
Summary
Pulmonary fibrosis involves ongoing lung injury repair. Aberrant epithelial-mesenchymal cell communication and function perpetuate this abnormal repair, driving lung fibrosis progression.
Area of Science:
- Pulmonary Medicine
- Cell Biology
- Pathology
Background:
- Pulmonary fibrosis results from lung injury, characterized by persistent wound-healing responses.
- Epithelial-mesenchymal interactions are crucial for lung development and repair.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review aberrant epithelial and mesenchymal cellular phenotypes in pulmonary fibrosis.
- To discuss mechanisms perpetuating these cellular phenotypes in lung fibrosis.
Main Methods:
- Review of existing literature on pulmonary fibrosis.
- Analysis of cellular phenotypes in patient tissues, animal models, and cell cultures.
Main Results:
- Pulmonary fibrosis tissues consistently show ongoing wound-repair responses.
- Dysregulated epithelial-mesenchymal cell function and communication impede repair resolution.
- Abnormalities in epithelial and mesenchymal cell proliferation, differentiation, and survival are evident.
Conclusions:
- Aberrant cellular phenotypes in epithelial and mesenchymal cells are central to pulmonary fibrosis.
- Impaired cell communication and function perpetuate the fibrotic process, hindering normal repair mechanisms.
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