IL‐17A promotes lung fibrosis through impairing mitochondrial homeostasis in type II alveolar epithelial cells

The dysfunction of type II alveolar epithelial cells (AECIIs), mainly manifested by apoptosis, has emerged as a major component of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) pathophysiology. A pivotal mechanism leading to AECIIs apoptosis is mitochondrial dysfunction. Recently, interleukin (IL)‐17A has been demonstrated to have a pro‐fibrotic role in IPF, though the mechanism is unclear. In this study, we report enhanced expression of IL‐17 receptor A (IL‐17RA) in AECIIs in lung samples of IPF patients, which may be related to the accumulation of mitochondria in AECIIs of IPF. Next, we investigated this relationship in bleomycin (BLM)‐induced PF murine model. We found that IL‐17A knockout (IL‐17A(−/−)) mice exhibited decreased apoptosis levels of AECIIs. This was possibly a result of the recovery of mitochondrial morphology from the improved mitochondrial dynamics of AECIIs, which eventually contributed to alleviating lung fibrosis. Analysis of in vitro data indicates that IL‐17A impairs mitochondrial function and mitochondrial dynamics of mouse primary AECIIs, further promoting apoptosis. PTEN‐induced putative kinase 1 (PINK1)/Parkin signal‐mediated mitophagy is an important aspect of mitochondria homeostasis maintenance. Our data demonstrate that IL‐17A inhibits mitophagy and promotes apoptosis of AECIIs by decreasing the expression levels of PINK1. We conclude that IL‐17A exerts its pro‐fibrotic effects by inducing mitochondrial dysfunction in AECIIs by disturbing mitochondrial dynamics and inhibiting PINK1‐mediated mitophagy, thereby leading to apoptosis of AECIIs.