NIH R01 · 2024
ABSTRACT Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a fibrotic lung disease with no effective treatment. The biological processes that underlie the persistent fibrotic repair and their molecular drivers have yet to be fully elucidated. Focal adhesion kinase (FAK)-Related Non-Kinase (FRNK) acts as an endogenous brake on lung fibrosis. FRNK is downregulated in IPF lung tissues and IPF fibroblasts, and the extent of FRNK downregulation tightly correlates with rapidity of motility in IPF fibroblasts. FRNK inhibits myofibroblast differentiation. Importantly, FRNK deficiency exacerbates lung fibrosis in bleomycin-challenged mice. However, the underlying mechanism whereby FRNK downregulation drives…
From the public funding record at NIH RePORTER. Describes the funded project, not the reviews below.