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The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This research was funded by grants from CIBEREHD, Instituto de Salud Carlos III (CB06/04/0071), Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion (PID 2019-108996RB-I00), and Conselleria de Innovacion, Universidades, Ciencia y Sociedad Digital, Generalitat Valenciana (CIPROM2021/044).r The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This research was funded by grants from CIBEREHD, Instituto de Salud Carlos III (CB06/04/0071), Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion (PID 2019-108996RB-I00), and Conselleria de Innovacion, Universidades, Ciencia y Sociedad Digital, Generalitat Valenciana (CIPROM 2021/044).

Analysis of institutional authors

Mendoza-Ballesteros, M TeresaAuthor

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Role of the epithelial barrier in intestinal fibrosis associated with inflammatory bowel disease: relevance of the epithelial-to mesenchymal transition

Publicated to:Frontiers In Cell And Developmental Biology. 11 1258843- - 2023-09-26 11(), DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2023.1258843

Authors: Macias-Ceja, Dulce C; Mendoza-Ballesteros, M Teresa; Ortega-Albiach, Maria; Barrachina, M Dolores; Ortiz-Masia, Dolores

Affiliations

INCL Biomed Res Inst, Valencia, Spain - Author
Inst Educ Super Isabel Villena, Conselleria Educ Cultura & Deporte, Valencia, Spain - Author
Univ Valencia, Dept Farmacol, Valencia, Spain - Author
Univ Valencia, Fac Med, CIBEREHD, Valencia, Spain - Author
Univ Valencia, Fac Med, Dept Med, Valencia, Spain - Author
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Abstract

In inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), chronic inflammation in the gastrointestinal tract can lead to tissue damage and remodelling, which can ultimately result in fibrosis. Prolonged injury and inflammation can trigger the activation of fibroblasts and extracellular matrix (ECM) components. As fibrosis progresses, the tissue becomes increasingly stiff and less functional, which can lead to complications such as intestinal strictures, obstructive symptoms, and eventually, organ dysfunction. Epithelial cells play a key role in fibrosis, as they secrete cytokines and growth factors that promote fibroblast activation and ECM deposition. Additionally, epithelial cells can undergo a process called epithelial-mesenchymal transition, in which they acquire a more mesenchymal-like phenotype and contribute directly to fibroblast activation and ECM deposition. Overall, the interactions between epithelial cells, immune cells, and fibroblasts play a critical role in the development and progression of fibrosis in IBD. Understanding these complex interactions may provide new targets for therapeutic interventions to prevent or treat fibrosis in IBD. In this review, we have collected and discussed the recent literature highlighting the contribution of epithelial cells to the pathogenesis of the fibrotic complications of IBD, including evidence of EMT, the epigenetic control of the EMT, the potential influence of the intestinal microbiome in EMT, and the possible therapeutic strategies to target EMT. Finally we discuss the pro-fibrotic interactions epithelial-immune cells and epithelial-fibroblasts cells.

Keywords

CancerColitisCrohnCrohns-diseaseEpithelial cellsEpithelial mesenchymal transitioEpithelial mesenchymal transitionEscherichia-coliFibroblastsFibrosisInflammatory bowel diseaseIntestinal fibrosisKinase expressionMetastasiMolecular-patternsOxidative stressPathogenesisRisk-factors

Quality index

Bibliometric impact. Analysis of the contribution and dissemination channel

The work has been published in the journal Frontiers In Cell And Developmental Biology due to its progression and the good impact it has achieved in recent years, according to the agency WoS (JCR), it has become a reference in its field. In the year of publication of the work, 2023, it was in position 5/39, thus managing to position itself as a Q1 (Primer Cuartil), in the category Developmental Biology.

From a relative perspective, and based on the normalized impact indicator calculated from World Citations provided by WoS (ESI, Clarivate), it yields a value for the citation normalization relative to the expected citation rate of: 1.42. This indicates that, compared to works in the same discipline and in the same year of publication, it ranks as a work cited above average. (source consulted: ESI Nov 14, 2024)

This information is reinforced by other indicators of the same type, which, although dynamic over time and dependent on the set of average global citations at the time of their calculation, consistently position the work at some point among the top 50% most cited in its field:

  • Field Citation Ratio (FCR) from Dimensions: 4.41 (source consulted: Dimensions Jun 2025)

Specifically, and according to different indexing agencies, this work has accumulated citations as of 2025-06-21, the following number of citations:

  • WoS: 12
  • Scopus: 12
  • Europe PMC: 7
  • OpenCitations: 5

Impact and social visibility

From the perspective of influence or social adoption, and based on metrics associated with mentions and interactions provided by agencies specializing in calculating the so-called "Alternative or Social Metrics," we can highlight as of 2025-06-21:

  • The use, from an academic perspective evidenced by the Altmetric agency indicator referring to aggregations made by the personal bibliographic manager Mendeley, gives us a total of: 24.
  • The use of this contribution in bookmarks, code forks, additions to favorite lists for recurrent reading, as well as general views, indicates that someone is using the publication as a basis for their current work. This may be a notable indicator of future more formal and academic citations. This claim is supported by the result of the "Capture" indicator, which yields a total of: 24 (PlumX).

With a more dissemination-oriented intent and targeting more general audiences, we can observe other more global scores such as:

  • The Total Score from Altmetric: 1.5.
  • The number of mentions on the social network X (formerly Twitter): 2 (Altmetric).

It is essential to present evidence supporting full alignment with institutional principles and guidelines on Open Science and the Conservation and Dissemination of Intellectual Heritage. A clear example of this is:

  • The work has been submitted to a journal whose editorial policy allows open Open Access publication.