Hye Jin Lee, Ksenija Bernau, Thomas J Harr, Zachary T Rosenkrans, Grace A Kessler, Kristen Stott, Angie Tebon Oler, Babita Rahar, Terry Zhu, Yadira Medina-Guevara, Nikesh Gupta, Inyoung Cho, Metti K Gari, Brian M Burkel, Justin J Jeffery, Ashley M Weichmann, Bianca R Tomasini-Johansson, Suzanne M Ponik, Jonathan W Engle, Reinier Hernandez, Glen S Kwon, Nathan Sandbo
Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a chronic lung disease resulting in irreversible scarring within the lungs. However, the lack of biomarkers that enable real-time assessment of disease activity remains a challenge in providing efficient clinical decision-making and optimal patient care in IPF. Fibronectin (FN) is highly expressed in fibroblastic foci of the IPF lung where active extracellular matrix (ECM) deposition occurs. Functional upstream domain (FUD) tightly binds the N-terminal 70-kilodalton domain of FN that is crucial for FN assembly...
April 12, 2024: Science Advances