β-III tubulin identifies anti-fibrotic state of pericytes in pulmonary fibrosis

β-III tubulin identifies anti-fibrotic state of pericytes in pulmonary fibrosis | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article β-III tubulin identifies anti-fibrotic state of pericytes in pulmonary fibrosis Yoh-suke Mukouyama, Ryo Sato, Kosuke Imamura, Tatsuya Tsukui, and 13 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8138421/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Pericytes have been implicated in pulmonary fibrosis, yet their activated cellular states and functional roles remain largely unclear. Here, we identified β-III tubulin (Tuj1) as a distinctive marker for fibrosis-associated lung pericytes. Most pericytes in fibrotic regions are Tuj1-positive and interact uniquely with multiple endothelial cells, localizing near collagen-producing fibroblasts and pro-fibrotic SPP1+/arginase+ macrophages. Tuj1 expression is predominantly induced in pericytes during the fibrotic phase, and Tuj1 gene (Tubb3) knockout in mice exacerbates lung fibrosis, accompanied by an increase in the neighboring pro-fibrotic fibroblasts and macrophages, suggesting an anti-fibrotic role for Tuj1-expressing pericytes. Mechanistically, the anti-fibrotic chemokine CXCL10 is upregulated in Tuj1-expressing pericytes, whereas this upregulation is not observed in Tubb3 knockout. Moreover, CXCL10 inhibits the pro-fibrotic differentiation of macrophages induced by lung fibroblasts in culture, implying that CXCL10 may mediate the anti-fibrotic effects of Tuj1-expressing pericytes. These findings underscore the role of lung pericytes in negatively regulating fibrotic process and their potential as therapeutic targets for pulmonary fibrosis patients. Biological sciences/Cell biology/Mechanisms of disease Health sciences/Diseases/Cardiovascular diseases/Vascular diseases Health sciences/Pathogenesis/Inflammation/Chronic inflammation Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8138421","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":556691102,"identity":"10768277-a9c7-4713-97ef-2a570660d868","order_by":0,"name":"Yoh-suke 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