A Cation Channel Protects the Stretched Lung

Overdistension of the lung causes ventilator-induced lung injury (VILI), and VILI is a severe consequence of mechanical ventilation. Yet, it is unclear why not even' patient develops VILI under conditions such as high-volume mechanical ventilation and unequal ventilation distribution. Here, an editorial about the cation channel protecting the stretched lung is presented. Zhong and coworkers identify a protective role for Piezo1 in adherens junctions and lung vascular barrier function in alveolar capillary ECs. The authors examined Piezo1 and vascular endothelial (VE)-cadherin expression in explanted human lungs from patients undergoing short-term or long-term mechanical ventilation. Piezo1 and the adherens junction component VE-cadherin were both downregulated in long-term mechanically ventilated samples.