Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a highly prevalent lung disease worldwide and imposes increasing disease burdens globally. COPD is characterized by irreversible airflow obstruction. Emphysema is one of the primary pathological features causing the irreversible decline of pulmonary function, while the precise mechanisms behind emphysema remain unclear. Reticulocalbin 3 (Rcn3) is an endoplasmic reticulum (ER) lumen protein localized in the secretory pathway of living cells. We have reported that Rcn3 in type II alveolar epithelial cell (AECIIs) plays a critical role in perinatal lung development and bleomycin-induced lung injury-repair. Since is associated with alveolar epithelial disruption, Rcn3 might be involved in the development of emphysema during COPD. Materials and Methods : We examined Rcn3 expression in lung specimens from patients (44 COPD patients and 26 non-COPD control patients) undergoing lung lobectomy or pneumonectomy. Mouse models of COPD and emphysema were established by cigarette smoke (CS) exposure and intratracheal installation of pancreatic porcine elastase (PPE), respectively. Rcn3 expression was detected in the lung tissues from these mice. Furthermore, conditional knockout (CKO) mice with Rcn3 deletion specific to AECIIs, were used to explore the role of Rcn3 in PPE-induced emphysema progression. Rcn3 protein expression in lung tissues were evaluated by Western blot and immunohistochemistry. Rcn3 mRNA expression in lung tissues was detected by qPCR.Results : Compared with non-COPD patients, Rcn3 expression was significantly increased in the lung specimens from COPD patients. Rcn3 expression was also significantly up-regulated in the lung tissues from COPD mice and emphysematous mice. Moreover, selective ablation of Rcn3 in AEC IIs significantly alleviated severity of the mouse emphysema in response to intratracheal installation of PPE.Conclusions: Our data, for the first time, indicated that Rcn3 in AECIIs might play a role in modulating the progression of emphysema, and thus be involved in the development of COPD. Suppression of Rcn3 expression in AECIIs may have a beneficial effect on COPD.This work was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 81641004).