BAG3: An enticing therapeutic target for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a dreadful and fatal disease of unknown etiology, for which no cure exists. Autophagy, a lysosomal cellular surveillance pathway is insufficiently activated in both alveolar epithelial type II cells and fibroblasts of IPF patient lungs. Fine-tuning this pathway may result in the degradation of the accumulated cargo and influence cell fate.

Therapeutic induction of Bcl2-associated athanogene 3-mediated autophagy in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

Background: Exaggerated fibroblast proliferation is a well-known feature in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) which may be - in part - due to insufficient autophagy, a lysosome dependent cellular surveillance pathway. Bcl2-associated athanogene 3 (BAG3) is a pivotal co-chaperone of the autophagy pathway. Here, we studied whether therapeutic modulation of BAG3-mediated autophagy can rescue insufficient autophagy and impact IPF fibroblast proliferation.

Evolution of H5-Type Avian Influenza A Virus Towards Mammalian Tropism in Egypt, 2014 to 2015.

Highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses (HPAIV) of the H5-subtype have circulated continuously in Egypt since 2006, resulting in numerous poultry outbreaks and considerable sporadic human infections. The extensive circulation and wide spread of these viruses in domestic poultry have resulted in various evolutionary changes with a dramatic impact on viral transmission ability to contact mammals including humans. The transmitted viruses are either (1) adapted well enough in their avian hosts to readily infect mammals, or (2) adapted in the new mammalian hosts to improve their fitness.

Susceptibility of microtubuleassociated protein 1 light chain 3β (MAP1LC3B/LC3B) knockout mice to lung injury and fibrosis.

Insufficient autophagy has been reported in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) lungs. Specific roles of autophagy-related proteins in lung fibrosis development remain largely unknown. Here, we investigated the role of autophagy marker protein microtubuleassociated protein 1 light chain 3β (LC3B) in the development of lung fibrosis.