Barry R. Stripp

*Correspondence: Huaiyong Chen, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Lung Regenerative Medicine, Haihe Hospital, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300350, China; e-mail: huaiyong.chen@foxmail.com; phone: +86-22-58830005 Department of Respiratory Medicine, Haihe Hospital, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300350, China Tianjin Key Laboratory of Lung Regenerative Medicine, Haihe Hospital, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300350, China Department of Tuberculosis, Haihe Clinical School, Tianjin Medical University,...

Abstract Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a progressive respiratory scarring disease arising from the maladaptive differentiation of lung stem cells into bronchial epithelial cells rather than into alveolar type 1 (AT1) cells, which are responsible for gas exchange. Here, we report that healthy lungs maintain their stem cells through tonic Hippo and β-catenin signaling, which promote Yap/Taz degradation and allow for low-level expression of the Wnt target gene Myc.

Abstract Background Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection of the respiratory system can progress to a multisystemic disease with aberrant inflammatory response. Cellular senescence promotes chronic inflammation, named senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP). We investigated whether coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is associated with cellular senescence and SASP.