Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32637156›Full record

ArticleCell death discovery2020

Paracrine SPARC signaling dysregulates alveolar epithelial barrier integrity and function in lung fibrosis.

Franco Conforti, Robert Ridley, Christopher Brereton, Aiman Alzetani, Benjamin Johnson, Ben G Marshall, Sophie V Fletcher, Christian H Ottensmeier, Luca Richeldi, Paul Skipp and 3 more

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Cell death discovery, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 28 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
28citing papers in PubMed
4.2field-weighted citation impact, top 5% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

28 citing papers in PubMed, 40 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Review
  6. Decreased scleral Wnt5aNature communications · 2025
    Article
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. Review
  10. Article
  11. Article
  12. Review
  13. Frontiers in cell and developmental biology · 2025
    Article
  14. Article
  15. Article
  16. Article
  17. Article
  18. Review
  19. Review
  20. Lung extracellular matrix modulates KRT5Nature communications · 2023
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

13 authors at 6 institutions in 2 countries.

Franco ConfortiClinical and Experimental Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton, SO16 6YD UK.ORCID 0000-0001-5305-3155
Robert RidleyClinical and Experimental Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton, SO16 6YD UK.
Christopher BreretonClinical and Experimental Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton, SO16 6YD UK.ORCID 0000-0001-8302-702X
Aiman AlzetaniDepartment of Thoracic Surgery, University Hospital Southampton, Southampton, SO16 6YD UK.
Benjamin JohnsonCancer Sciences & NIHR and CRUK Experimental Cancer Sciences Unit, University of Southampton, Southampton, SO16 6YD UK.
Ben G MarshallNIHR Southampton Biomedical Research Centre, University Hospital Southampton, Southampton, SO16 6YD UK.
Sophie V FletcherNIHR Southampton Biomedical Research Centre, University Hospital Southampton, Southampton, SO16 6YD UK.
Christian H OttensmeierUniversity Hospital Southampton, Southampton, SO16 6YD UK.
Luca RicheldiClinical and Experimental Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton, SO16 6YD UK.
Paul SkippCentre for Proteomic Research, Institute for Life Sciences University of Southampton, Southampton, SO17 1BJ UK.
Yihua WangInstitute for Life Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, SO17 1BJ UK.ORCID 0000-0001-5561-0648
Mark G JonesClinical and Experimental Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton, SO16 6YD UK.ORCID 0000-0001-6308-6014
Donna E DaviesClinical and Experimental Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton, SO16 6YD UK.
Southampton General Hospital · GBUniversity of Southampton · GBNIHR Southampton Respiratory Biomedical Research Unit · GBNIHR CRUK Experimental Cancer Medicine Centre · GBUniversità Cattolica del Sacro Cuore · ITUniversity Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust · GB

Funding

Medical Research Council MR/S025480/1MRF_ MRF-091-0003-RG-CONFOWellcome Trust
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a chronic scarring disease in which aging, environmental exposure(s) and genetic susceptibility have been implicated in disease pathogenesis, however, the causes and mechanisms of the progressive fibrotic cascade are still poorly understood. As epithelial-mesenchymal interactions are essential for normal wound healing, through human 2D and 3D in vitro studies, we tested the hypothesis that IPF fibroblasts (IPFFs) dysregulate alveolar epithelial homeostasis. Conditioned media from IPFFs exaggerated the wound-healing response of primary human Type II alveolar epithelial cells (AECs). Furthermore, AECs co-cultured with IPFFs exhibited irregular epithelialization compared with those co-cultured with control fibroblasts (NHLFs) or AECs alone, suggesting that epithelial homeostasis is dysregulated in IPF as a consequence of the abnormal secretory phenotype of IPFFs. Secretome analysis of IPFF conditioned media and functional studies identified the matricellular protein, SPARC, as a key mediator in the epithelial-mesenchymal paracrine signaling, with increased secretion of SPARC by IPFFs promoting persistent activation of alveolar epithelium via an integrin/focal adhesion/cellular-junction axis resulting in disruption of epithelial barrier integrity and increased macromolecular permeability. These findings suggest that in IPF fibroblast paracrine signaling promotes persistent alveolar epithelial activation, so preventing normal epithelial repair responses and restoration of tissue homeostasis. Furthermore, they identify SPARC-mediated paracrine signaling as a potential therapeutic target to promote the restoration of lung epithelial homoestasis in IPF patients.

Indexed as

Experimental models of diseaseExtracellular signalling molecules

Identifiers

PMID32637156
PMCPMC7327077
OpenAlexW3040455195

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.