Disrupted daily rhythms in lung lining cells in lung diseases

Circadian clock dysfunction in pulmonary epithelial cells is associated with various pulmonary diseases.

• Highly-differentiated pulmonary epithelial cells play crucial roles in lung health through various physiological functions.
• Key clock genes, such as BMAL1 and REV-ERB-α, regulate the inflammatory response in specific epithelial cell types.
• Dysfunction of the circadian clock in alveolar epithelial cells may contribute to increased susceptibility to airway inflammation and infections.
• Ciliated cells exhibit circadian rhythms in ciliary beat frequency, suggesting a link between timekeeping and respiratory function.

Simplified