Spatial transcriptomics of the distal lung bronchioles unravel the mechanisms underlying epithelial desquamation in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF)

One histopathological hallmark seen in end-stage IPF within the distal bronchioles is epithelial desquamation, a process in which the epithelial cells detach from their basement membrane. We performed spatial transcriptomics to profile the distal bronchiolar epithelium of the IPF lung and compared it to healthy lung bronchiolar epithelium. Our analysis has revealed crucial pathways leading to epithelial desquamation. The Nanostring GeoMx spatial transcriptomics platform was utilized to isolate the transcriptome from our regions of interest (ROI). Eight ROIs from ciliated regions of distal bronchiolar epithelium from IPF patients and three ROIs from patients with no pulmonary history were analyzed.