Cellular and Molecular Signaling Pathways in Matrix Remodeling in COPD

A Special Issue of Cells (ISSN 2073-4409) belonging to the section "Cell Signaling".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 March 2027 | Viewed by 691

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Guest Editor
Department of Clinical Medicine, Laboratory of Experimental Therapeutics/LIM-20, School of Medicine of University of Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo 01246-903, Brazil
Interests: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; extracellular matrix; lung function; asthma; acute respiratory distress syndrome; immune response in COPD
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Dear Colleagues,

Chronic inflammation in COPD drives progressive structural alterations by the excessive release of proteolytic enzymes, particularly matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), which promote degradation and remodeling of extracellular matrix (ECM) components in both the small airways and the lung parenchyma. As ECM fibers are degraded by MMP activity, the lung undergoes compensatory structural reorganization, reflecting a dynamic but often dysregulated process of repair and remodeling. Alterations in major ECM constituents, particularly collagen types I and III and elastin, are thought to play a central role in the progressive loss of tissue elasticity observed during the development of emphysema. Despite the availability of clinical and surgical strategies to control respiratory symptoms associated with these structural changes, there is currently no treatment capable of restoring damaged lung tissue. Existing therapies are limited to slowing or preventing further progression of tissue destruction. Therefore, a more comprehensive understanding of the signaling pathways involved in lung injury and remodeling during the development and progression of COPD is essential to identify new molecular targets and support the development of more effective therapeutic strategies for disease management. In this Research Topic, we welcome experimental manuscripts focusing on, but not limited to, cellular and molecular signaling pathways involved in tissue remodeling during the COPD development and progression.

Dr. Fernanda D.T.Q.S. Lopes
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • COPD
  • tissue remodeling
  • cellular and molecular signaling pathways
  • extracellular matrix components

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Review

26 pages, 3114 KB  
Review
Cooperation, Defection, and Collapse: A Multiscale Game Theory Framework for Emphysema Progression
by Jerome Cantor
Cells 2026, 15(16), 1470; https://doi.org/10.3390/cells15161470 - 17 Aug 2026
Viewed by 398
Abstract
In the current paper, pulmonary emphysema is hypothesized to emerge from a nonlinear breakdown of cooperation across two tightly coupled systems: the extracellular matrix (ECM) crosslink network and the cellular populations responsible for its maintenance. To formalize this concept, we construct a game-theoretic [...] Read more.
In the current paper, pulmonary emphysema is hypothesized to emerge from a nonlinear breakdown of cooperation across two tightly coupled systems: the extracellular matrix (ECM) crosslink network and the cellular populations responsible for its maintenance. To formalize this concept, we construct a game-theoretic model that unifies the mechanical failure, inflammatory changes, and percolation-driven tissue collapse that are recognized features of the disease. At the ECM level, elastin and collagen crosslinks are modeled as players in an iterated Prisoner’s Dilemma, where cooperation corresponds to maintaining structural integrity, and defection corresponds to rupture under mechanical stress. At the cellular level, fibroblasts, macrophages, and neutrophils engage in a parallel strategic game in which repair reflects cooperative activity, and protease- or oxidant-producing phenotypes are indicative of defection. These parallel games are coupled through bidirectional payoff modulation, generating a dynamical system with bistability, tipping points, and runaway positive feedback. As the fraction of intact crosslinks falls below a critical percolation threshold, global network connectivity collapses and lung function drops precipitously. This framework explains the characteristic features of pulmonary emphysema, including spatial heterogeneity, abrupt acceleration, and irreversibility as emergent properties of coupled cooperation–defection dynamics, and identifies new leverage points for stabilizing cooperation and preventing catastrophic network failure in early disease. In support of this hypothesis, we present previously published studies from our laboratory involving measurements of elastin-specific desmosine crosslinks in human postmortem emphysematous lungs showing a marked increase in tissue crosslink density at the early stage of the disease, and accelerating loss of these crosslinks as airspace enlargement progresses, consistent with initial cooperation followed by defection. This conceptual framework is then applied to the poorly understood lung disease, Combined Pulmonary Fibrosis and Emphysema, to provide a potential mechanism for its pathogenesis. Full article
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