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Impact of ergothioneine on idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis markers in human lung epithelial cells in vitro

The pathology of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) remains unknown. Tobacco smoking is a risk factor for IPF and tobacco smoke‐induced oxidative stress can initiate/worsen epithelial‐mesenchymal transition (EMT) in pulmonary epithelial cells, leading to IPF. Ergothioneine (ET) is an antioxidant amino acid available exclusively from the diet. ET requires its physiological transporter OCTN1 (SLC22A4) for cellular uptake and accumulation. Genetic variants of SLC22A4 have been associated with inflammatory bowel diseases and COPD, diseases with fibrotic phenotype. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that ET protects lung epithelial cells in vitro from factors implicated with EMT.