ArticleEBioMedicine2020
Canonical WNT pathway is activated in the airway epithelium in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Article in EBioMedicine, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 37 papers.
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Who cites it
37 citing papers in PubMed, 68 citations in OpenAlex.
- Hypomethylation of FAM83A in lung adenocarcinoma mirrors an epigenetic signature of airway cell differentiation states.Discover oncology · 2026Article
- Effects of the WNT signaling pathway on inflammation and fibrosis in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis: Clinical, radiological and molecular evaluation.Experimental and therapeutic medicine · 2026Article
- Activation of STAT3 in the COPD airway epithelium.ERJ open research · 2026Article
- Temporal regulation of wnt signaling in alveolar development and regeneration: mechanistic insights and therapeutic advances in chronic lung diseases.Frontiers in cell and developmental biology · 2026Review
- Verteporfin, an inhibitor of nuclear YAP, improved multi-ciliated cell differentiation in the airway epithelium.Journal of translational medicine · 2025Article
- Impaired IgA mucosal immunity following lung transplantation: a potential trigger for bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome.The European respiratory journal · 2025Article
- Eosinophil-derived interleukin-24 compromises epithelial integrity and aggravates airway remodeling in mouse models of allergic asthma.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Development of novel osteoarthritis therapy by targeting AMPK-β-catenin-Runx2 signaling.Genes & diseases · 2025Review
- Single-cell transcriptomics reveals e-cigarette vapor-induced airway epithelial remodeling and injury.Respiratory research · 2024Article
- WISP1 and Macrophage Migration Inhibitory Factor in Respiratory Inflammation: Novel Insights and Therapeutic Potentials for Asthma and COPD.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Review
- Acute exposure to electronic cigarette components alters mRNA expression of pre-osteoblasts.FASEB journal : official publication of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology · 2024Article
- Stimuli-Specific Senescence of Primary Human Lung Fibroblasts Modulates Alveolar Stem Cell Function.Cells · 2024Article
- Thoracic high resolution computed tomography evaluation of imaging abnormalities of 108 lung cancer patients with different pulmonary function.Cancer imaging : the official publication of the International Cancer Imaging Society · 2024Article
- Smoking-Associated Endotracheal Hair Growth: A Case Report on Tracheal Complications.The American journal of case reports · 2024Article
- Article
- Aerobic exercise training engages the canonical wnt pathway to improve pulmonary function and inflammation in COPD.BMC pulmonary medicine · 2024Article
- A map of signaling responses in the human airway epithelium.Cell systems · 2024Article
- The memory of airway epithelium damage in smokers and COPD patients.Life science alliance · 2024Article
- Airway ciliated cells in adult lung homeostasis and COPD.European respiratory review : an official journal of the European Respiratory Society · 2023Review
- Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition Mechanisms in Chronic Airway Diseases: A Common Process to Target?International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Review
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Authors and funding
14 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundChronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a devastating lung disease, mainly due to cigarette smoking, which represents the third cause of mortality worldwide. The mechanisms driving its epithelial salient features remain largely elusive. We aimed to evaluate the activation and the role of the canonical, β-catenin-dependant WNT pathway in the airway epithelium from COPD patients.
methodsThe WNT/β-catenin pathway was first assessed by WNT-targeted RNA sequencing of the air/liquid interface-reconstituted bronchial epithelium from COPD and control patients. Airway expression of total and active β-catenin was assessed in lung sections, as well as WNT components in laser-microdissected airway epithelium. Finally, we evaluated the role of WNT at the bronchial epithelial level by modulating the pathway in the reconstituted COPD epithelium.
findingsWe show that the WNT/β-catenin pathway is upregulated in the COPD airway epithelium as compared with that of non-smokers and control smokers, in targeted RNA-sequencing of in vitro reconstituted airway epithelium, and in situ in lung tissue and laser-microdissected epithelium. Extrinsic activation of this pathway in COPD-derived airway epithelium inhibited epithelial differentiation, polarity and barrier function, and induced TGF-β-related epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Conversely, canonical WNT inhibition increased ciliated cell numbers, epithelial polarity and barrier function, whilst inhibiting EMT, thus reversing COPD features.
interpretationIn conclusion, the aberrant reactivation of the canonical WNT pathway in the adult airway epithelium recapitulates the diseased phenotype observed in COPD patients, suggesting that this pathway or its downstream effectors could represent a future therapeutic target.
fundingThis study was supported by the Fondation Mont-Godinne, the FNRS and the WELBIO.
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