Therapeutic effects of telomerase in mice with pulmonary fibrosis induced by damage to the lungs and short telomeres

In our previous study, mice with pulmonary fibrosis induced by a bleomycin insult in the context of short telomeres develop pulmonary fibrosis. By using AAV9 vectors carrying the telomerase Tert gene to treat those mice, we explore the possibility of telomerase gene therapy as a possible treatment for IPF patients carrying short telomeres. To further understand gene expression changes undergoing in ATII cells upon telomerase activation, we isolated ATII cells from pulmonary fibrosis Tert-treated and empty vector-treated lungs at 1 week after AAV9 inoculation by FACS. Mice with pulmonary fibrosis were treated with either AAV9-Tert or empty vector and were sacrificed 1 week post-virus inoculation. ATII cells were sorted by FACS from mouse lungs of both groups AAV9-Tert and AAV9-empty vector.