α1-adrenergic signaling regulates fibroblast activation in human pulmonary fibrosis

Emerging evidence suggests that adrenergic signaling regulates fibroblast function and contributes to fibrogenesis. To define the transcriptional programs governed by α1-adrenergic signaling in human lung fibroblasts, we performed bulk RNA sequencing on primary lung fibroblasts derived from patients with IPF and SSc-ILD.

Primary human lung fibroblasts were treated with the α1-adrenergic receptor antagonist terazosin or vehicle control, and Poly(A) RNA was subjected to high-throughput sequencing. Comparative transcriptomic analyses were conducted to identify differentially expressed genes and pathways associated with α1-adrenergic blockade. We generated paired-end RNA sequencing data from 16 samples, including fibroblasts from IPF (biological n=4) and SSc-ILD (biological n=4) under two conditions (with or without terazosin treatment), enabling systematic characterization of both shared and disease-specific transcriptional responses.