ArticleHistochemistry and cell biology2026
The role of alveolar epithelial junctions in early lung injury and COVID-19-induced fibrosis.
Article in Histochemistry and cell biology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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Abstract
Pulmonary fibrosis is a chronic progressive disease, caused by numerous factors, including severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Damage to the alveolar epithelial barrier (formed by junctions between alveolar epithelial cells I) has been described as a key mechanism of early fibrosis and therefore could be crucial for COVID-19-associated sequelae. The integrity of adherens junctions is regulated by p120 catenin and is crucial for barrier regulation in epithelial-mesenchymal-transition-driven diseases such as fibrogenesis and cancer. Abundance and expression of p120 catenin and intercellular contact regulating proteins (caveolin-1, P2X7R) were investigated retrospectively in COVID-19 lungs (acute, chronic) compared with healthy controls and interstitial lung disease of different etiologies (n = 6). p120 Catenin was further investigated in early injury models using profibrotic agents in murine lung and human alveolar epithelial cell culture. p120 Catenin abundance was higher in chronic COVID-19 compared with acute COVID-19, suggesting a role in fibrotic development. The interacting proteins caveolin-1 and P2X7R were simultaneously decreased in COVID-19, indicating a role in early pathophysiology. Early epithelial damage showed no changes in p120 catenin and its phospho-Y228 site in cell culture whereas p120 catenin was reduced in murine lung culture. Thus, alterations in and interactions between p120 catenin and caveolae associated proteins may represent a potential mechanism underlying COVID-19-induced pulmonary fibrosis.
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