Bone marrow mesenchymal stromal cells attenuate silica-induced pulmonary fibrosis potentially by attenuating Wnt/β-catenin signaling in rats

Background Pulmonary fibrosis induced by silica dust is an irreversible, chronic, and fibroproliferative lung disease with no effective treatment at present. Previous studies have shown that early intervention with bone marrow mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (BMSCs) has positive effect on anti-pulmonary fibrosis caused by silica dust. However, early intervention using BMSCs is not practical, and the therapeutic effects of BMSCs advanced intervention on pulmonary fibrosis have rarely been reported. In this study, we investigated the effects of advanced transplantation (on the 28th day after exposure to silica suspension) of BMSCs on an established rat model of pulmonary fibrosis.