Mechanosensitive ion channel Piezo1 mediates mechanical ventilation-exacerbated ARDS-associated pulmonary fibrosis

Introduction: Pulmonary fibrosis is a major cause of the poor prognosis of acute respiratory distress syn-drome (ARDS). While mechanical ventilation (MV) is an indispensable life-saving intervention for ARDS, it may cause the remodeling process in lung epithelial cells to become disorganized and exacerbate ARDS-associated pulmonary fibrosis. Piezo1 is a mechanosensitive ion channel that is known to play a role in regulating diverse physiological processes, but whether Piezo1 is necessary for MV-exacerbated ARDS-associated pulmonary fibrosis remains unknown. Objectives: This study aimed to explore the role of Piezo1 in MV-exacerbated ARDS-associated pul-monary fibrosis.Methods: Human lung epithelial cells were stimulated with hydrochloric acid (HCl) followed by mechan-ical stretch for 48 h. A two-hit model of MV after acid aspiration-induced lung injury in mice was used. Mice were sacrificed after 14 days of MV. Pharmacological inhibition and knockout of Piezo1 were used to delineate the role of Piezo1 in MV-exacerbated ARDS-associated pulmonary fibrosis. In some experi-ments, ATP or the ATP-hydrolyzing enzyme apyrase was administered.Results: The stimulation of human lung epithelial cells to HCl resulted in phenotypes of epithelialmesenchymal transition (EMT), which were enhanced by mechanical stretching. MV exacerbated pulmonary fibrosis in mice exposed to HCl. Pharmacological inhibition or knockout of Piezo1 attenuated the MV-exacerbated EMT process and lung fibrosis in vivo and in vitro. Mechanistically, the observed effects were mediated by Piezo1-dependent Ca2+ influx and ATP release in lung epithelial cells.Conclusions: Our findings identify a key role for Piezo1 in MV-exacerbated ARDS-associated pulmonary fibrosis that is mediated by increased ATP release in lung epithelial cells. Inhibiting Piezo1 may constitute a novel strategy for the treatment of MV-exacerbated ARDS-associated pulmonary fibrosis.(c) 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of Cairo University.This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

Automated summary

This study demonstrated the key role of Piezo1 in mechanical ventilation-exacerbated ARDS-associated pulmonary fibrosis. Inhibiting Piezo1 activity could attenuate ATP release and EMT process in lung epithelial cells, thus improving pulmonary fibrosis.