ACTA1 and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis: Recent studies suggest that TGF-β1-induced EMT of alveolar epithelial cells may contribute to myofibroblast formation in murine fibrotic lungs and IPF patients.32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 We found that a second administration of apoptotic cells with simvastatin enhanced ability of an early apoptotic cell infusion to modulate expression of EMT markers,38 as evidenced by decreased E-cadherin and claudin-1 and increased α-SMA transcripts in isolated AT II cells.