SQSTM1 and pulmonary emphysema: In comparison to control groups, we observed several yellow bodies in ARPE-19 cells treated with CSE (10%), indicating that there was co-localization of ubiquitinated proteins (Ub) and p62, suggestive of proteostasis/autophagy-impairment (Fig 3A) based on our previous studies in COPD-emphysema pathogenesis [17, 20, 27].