Its release from the plasma membrane potentially reflects the activation of EMT-like processes in lung organoids, accompanied by the decrease of expressed KRT8. Further supporting these findings, we showed the elevated expression of BMP4 and MMP7, critical regulators of EMT in pulmonary fibrosis (40), in lung organoids co-cultured with ILD fibroblasts. Here, BMP4 is linked to pulmonary fibrosis.