Mitochondrial Dysfunction in Lung Resident Mesenchymal Stem Cells from Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis Patients
Josep Mercader-Barceló,
Aina Martín-Medina,
Joan Truyols-Vives,
Gabriel Escarrer-Garau,
Linda Elowsson,
Ana Montes-Worboys,
Carlos Río-Bocos,
Josep Muncunill-Farreny,
Julio Velasco-Roca,
Anna Cederberg,
Måns Kadefors,
Maria Molina-Molina,
Gunilla Westergren-Thorsson,
Ernest Sala-Llinàs
Affiliations
Josep Mercader-Barceló
iRESPIRE Research Group, Health Research Institute of the Balearic Islands (IdISBa), 07120 Palma, Spain
Aina Martín-Medina
iRESPIRE Research Group, Health Research Institute of the Balearic Islands (IdISBa), 07120 Palma, Spain
Joan Truyols-Vives
MolONE Research Group, University of the Balearic Islands, 07122 Palma, Spain
Gabriel Escarrer-Garau
MolONE Research Group, University of the Balearic Islands, 07122 Palma, Spain
Linda Elowsson
Lung Biology, Department of Experimental Medical Science, Lund University, 08908 Lund, Sweden
Ana Montes-Worboys
ILD Unit, Respiratory Department, University Hospital of Bellvitge-Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL), Hospitalet de Llobregat, 08908 Barcelona, Spain
Carlos Río-Bocos
iRESPIRE Research Group, Health Research Institute of the Balearic Islands (IdISBa), 07120 Palma, Spain
Josep Muncunill-Farreny
Health Research Institute of the Balearic Islands (IdISBa), 07120 Palma, Spain
Julio Velasco-Roca
Health Research Institute of the Balearic Islands (IdISBa), 07120 Palma, Spain
Anna Cederberg
Lung Biology, Department of Experimental Medical Science, Lund University, 08908 Lund, Sweden
Måns Kadefors
Lung Biology, Department of Experimental Medical Science, Lund University, 08908 Lund, Sweden
Maria Molina-Molina
ILD Unit, Respiratory Department, University Hospital of Bellvitge-Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL), Hospitalet de Llobregat, 08908 Barcelona, Spain
Gunilla Westergren-Thorsson
Lung Biology, Department of Experimental Medical Science, Lund University, 08908 Lund, Sweden
Ernest Sala-Llinàs
iRESPIRE Research Group, Health Research Institute of the Balearic Islands (IdISBa), 07120 Palma, Spain
Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is characterized by an aberrant repair response with uncontrolled turnover of extracellular matrix involving mesenchymal cell phenotypes, where lung resident mesenchymal stem cells (LRMSC) have been supposed to have an important role. However, the contribution of LRMSC in lung fibrosis is not fully understood, and the role of LRMSC in IPF remains to be elucidated. Here, we performed transcriptomic and functional analyses on LRMSC isolated from IPF and control patients (CON). Both over-representation and gene set enrichment analyses indicated that oxidative phosphorylation is the major dysregulated pathway in IPF LRMSC. The most relevant differences in biological processes included complement activation, mesenchyme development, and aerobic electron transport chain. Compared to CON LRMSC, IPF cells displayed impaired mitochondrial respiration, lower expression of genes involved in mitochondrial dynamics, and dysmorphic mitochondria. These changes were linked to an impaired autophagic response and a lower mRNA expression of pro-apoptotic genes. In addition, IPF TGFβ-exposed LRMSC presented different expression profiles of mitochondrial-related genes compared to CON TGFβ-treated cells, suggesting that TGFβ reinforces mitochondrial dysfunction. In conclusion, these results suggest that mitochondrial dysfunction is a major event in LRMSC and that their occurrence might limit LRMSC function, thereby contributing to IPF development.