Pleased to share that the lab has landed its first R01 to study the role of lactate transport as a potential metabolic vulnerability in pulmonary fibrosis!

#cureIPF

4/n Loss of miR-33 in macrophages improves mitochondrial homeostasis (function and structure) at baseline and after bleomycin injury, ⬆️ autophagy and mitophagy #CureIPF #miR33PFPaper
https://insight.jci.org/articles/view/158100
JCI Insight - microRNA-33 deficiency in macrophages enhances autophagy, improves mitochondrial homeostasis, and protects against lung fibrosis

3/n Knocking down miR-33 genetically in myeloid cells, or pharmacologically using a Peptide Nucleic Acid inhibitor designed by Dr. Bahal (PNA-33) protects mice against bleomycin-induced Pulmonary Fibrosis
#CureIPF #miR33PFPaper
https://insight.jci.org/articles/view/158100
JCI Insight - microRNA-33 deficiency in macrophages enhances autophagy, improves mitochondrial homeostasis, and protects against lung fibrosis

5/n Impressively, loss of Mir-33 in myeloid cells, has an effect on alveolar type II cells, their mitochondrial homeostasis improved and apoptosis ⬇️
#CureIPF #miR33PFPaper
https://insight.jci.org/articles/view/158100
JCI Insight - microRNA-33 deficiency in macrophages enhances autophagy, improves mitochondrial homeostasis, and protects against lung fibrosis

7/n So grateful to the team, led by Dr. Ahangari, #KaminskiLab members, so many selfless collaborators including Drs Fernández-Hernando, Price, Dela Cruz, Prasse, Ivan Rosas, & Bahal (https://bahal.lab.uconn.edu/ that designed PNA-33) #CureIPF #miR33PFPaper
https://insight.jci.org/articles/view/158100
Home | The Bahal Research Lab

Bahal Lab Dr. Bahal’s research lab integrates chemical biology of nucleic acid analogues and new polymeric delivery strategies to target genetic diseases and various kinds of cancer. His group’s major research interests include (1) selective targeting of microRNA and mRNA using antisense b ...

8/n last - Study funding was by @[email protected] #DiscoveryAward to @[email protected] & by @[email protected] to me & others, also supported by institutional cores, colleagues, patient advocates, sample & tissue donors
Thank you all!!!
#CureIPF #miR33PFPaper
https://insight.jci.org/articles/view/158100
JCI Insight - microRNA-33 deficiency in macrophages enhances autophagy, improves mitochondrial homeostasis, and protects against lung fibrosis

6/n Pharmacologic inhibition of miR-33 using PNA-33 in precision-cut lung slices obtained from bleomycin-injured mice or humans with IPF, also indicated antifibrotic effects, including reversal of profibrotic macrophage signature
#CureIPF #miR33PFPaper
https://insight.jci.org/articles/view/158100
JCI Insight - microRNA-33 deficiency in macrophages enhances autophagy, improves mitochondrial homeostasis, and protects against lung fibrosis

2/n We first show that miR-33 is increased in BAL and lung cells obtained from IPF patients and that miR-33 target genes are decreased in IPF
#CureIPF #miR33PFPaper
https://insight.jci.org/articles/view/158100
Intriguing! Connections between air pollution, and DNA methylation in IPF. Kudos Drs Dr. Goobie, Zhang & team
#CleanAir
#CureIPF
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0269749122021571
Really cool for last day of 2022 - decellularized ECM composition of specific anatomical lung regions in non-disease, COPD, and IPF human lungs. Kudos Drs Hoffman, Weiss & team
#CureCOPD #CureIPF #ECMRules https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0142961222006007