scholarly journals Characterization of alveolar epithelial lineage heterogeneity during the late pseudoglandular stage of mouse lung development

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Jones ◽  
Lei Chong ◽  
Arun Lingampally ◽  
Jochen Wilhelm ◽  
Meshal Ansari ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Lung Development ◽  
Significant Proportion ◽  
Gene Array ◽  
Growth Factor Receptor ◽  
Dominant Negative ◽  
Mouse Lung ◽  
Alveolar Type ◽  
Alveolar Cells ◽  
Knock Out ◽  
Signature Genes

The specification, characterization, and fate of alveolar type 1 and type 2 (AT1 and 2) progenitors during embryonic lung development remains mostly elusive. In this paper, we build upon our previously published work on the regulation of airway epithelial progenitors by fibroblast growth factor receptor 2b (Fgfr2b) signalling during early (E12.5) and mid (E14.5) pseudoglandular lung development. Here, we looked at the regulation by Fgfr2b signalling on alveolar progenitors during late pseudoglandular/early canalicular (E14.5-E16.5) development. Using a dominant negative mouse model to conditionally inhibit Fgfr2b ligands at E16.5, we used gene array analyses to characterize a set of potential direct targets of Fgfr2b signalling. By mining published single-cell RNA sequence (scRNAseq) datasets, we showed that these Fgfr2b signature genes narrow on a discreet subset of AT2 cells at E17.5 and in adult lungs. Furthermore, we demonstrated that Fgfr2b signalling is lost in AT2 cells in their transition to AT1 cells during repair after injury. We also used CreERT2-based mouse models to conditionally knock-out the Fgfr2b gene in AT2 and in AT1 progenitors, as well as lineage label these cells. We found, using immunofluorescence, that in wildtype controls AT1 progenitors labeled at E14.5-E15.5 contribute a significant proportion to AT2 cells at E18.5; while AT2 progenitors labeled at the same time contribute significantly to the AT1 lineage. We show, using immunofluorescence and FACS-based analysis, that knocking out of Fgfr2b at E14.5-E15.5 in AT2 progenitors leads to an increase in lineage-labeled AT1 cells at E18.5; while the reverse is true in AT1 progenitors. Furthermore, we demonstrate that increased Fgfr signalling in AT2 progenitors reduces their contribution to the AT1 pool. Taken together, our results suggest that a significant proportion of AT2 and AT1 progenitors are cross-lineage committed during late pseudoglandular development, and that lineage commitment is regulated in part by Fgfr2b signalling. We have characterized a set of direct Fgfr2b targets at E16.5 which are likely involved in alveolar lineage formation. These signature genes concentrate on a subpopulation of AT2 cells later in development, and are downregulated in AT2 cells transitioning to the AT1 lineage during repair after injury in adults. Our findings highlight the extensive heterogeneity of alveolar cells by elucidating the role of Fgfr2b signalling in these cells during early alveolar lineage formation, as well as during repair after injury.

scholarly journals Evidence for Overlapping and Distinct Biological Activities and Transcriptional Targets Triggered by Fibroblast Growth Factor Receptor 2b Signaling between Mid- and Early Pseudoglandular Stages of Mouse Lung Development

Cells ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 1274
Author(s):  
Matthew R. Jones ◽  
Arun Lingampally ◽  
Jin Wu ◽  
Jamschid Sedighi ◽  
Negah Ahmadvand ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Growth Factor ◽  
Fibroblast Growth Factor ◽  
Lung Development ◽  
Fibroblast Growth Factor Receptor ◽  
Biological Activities ◽  
Growth Factor Receptor ◽  
Branching Morphogenesis ◽  
Soluble Form ◽  
Alveolar Type ◽  
Fibroblast Growth

Branching morphogenesis is the basic developmental mode common to organs such as the lungs that undergo a process of ramification from a rudimentary tree. However, the precise molecular and cellular bases underlying the formation of branching organs are still unclear. As inactivation of fibroblast growth factor receptor 2b (Fgfr2b) signaling during early development leads to lung agenesis, thereby preventing the analysis of this pathway at later developmental stages, we used transgenic mice to induce expression of a soluble form of Fgfr2b to inactivate Fgfr2b ligands at embryonic day (E) 14.5, corresponding to the mid-pseudoglandular stage of lung development. We identified an Fgfr2b signaling signature comprised of 46 genes enriched in the epithelium, some of which were common to, but most of them distinct from, the previously identified Fgfr2b signaling signature at E12.5. Our results indicate that Fgfr2b signaling at E14.5 controls mostly proliferation and alveolar type 2 cell (AT2) differentiation. In addition, inhibition of Fgfr2b signaling at E14.5 leads to morphological and cellular impairment at E18.5, with defective alveolar lineage formation. Further studies will have to be conducted to elucidate the role of Fgfr2b signaling at successive stages (canalicular/saccular/alveolar) of lung development as well as during homeostasis and regeneration and repair after injury.

scholarly journals Targeted Disruption of Mouse Dip2B Leads to Abnormal Lung Development and Prenatal Lethality

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (21) ◽  
pp. 8223
Author(s):  
Rajiv Kumar Sah ◽  
Jun Ma ◽  
Fatoumata Binta Bah ◽  
Zhenkai Xing ◽  
Salah Adlat ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Lung Development ◽  
Cell Types ◽  
Branching Morphogenesis ◽  
Brdu Incorporation ◽  
Mouse Lung ◽  
Alveolar Type ◽  
Type I ◽  
Lung Maturation ◽  
M Phase

Molecular and anatomical functions of mammalian Dip2 family members (Dip2A, Dip2B and Dip2C) during organogenesis are largely unknown. Here, we explored the indispensable role of Dip2B in mouse lung development. Using a LacZ reporter, we explored Dip2B expression during embryogenesis. This study shows that Dip2B expression is widely distributed in various neuronal, myocardial, endothelial, and epithelial cell types during embryogenesis. Target disruption of Dip2b leads to intrauterine growth restriction, defective lung formation and perinatal mortality. Dip2B is crucial for late lung maturation rather than early-branching morphogenesis. The morphological analysis shows that Dip2b loss leads to disrupted air sac formation, interstitium septation and increased cellularity. In BrdU incorporation assay, it is shown that Dip2b loss results in increased cell proliferation at the saccular stage of lung development. RNA-seq analysis reveals that 1431 genes are affected in Dip2b deficient lungs at E18.5 gestation age. Gene ontology analysis indicates cell cycle-related genes are upregulated and immune system related genes are downregulated. KEGG analysis identifies oxidative phosphorylation as the most overrepresented pathways along with the G2/M phase transition pathway. Loss of Dip2b de-represses the expression of alveolar type I and type II molecular markers. Altogether, the study demonstrates an important role of Dip2B in lung maturation and survival.

scholarly journals The Normal and Fibrotic Mouse Lung in Situ Classified by High Dimensional Single Cell Analysis on Routinely Processed Tissue

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roberta Ciccimarra ◽  
Maddalena M. Bolognesi ◽  
Matteo Zoboli ◽  
Giorgio Cattoretti ◽  
Fabio F. Stellari ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Single Cell ◽  
Single Cell Analysis ◽  
Progressive Increase ◽  
Mouse Lung ◽  
Alveolar Type ◽  
Type I ◽  
Alveolar Cells ◽  
Antibody Staining ◽  
Fibrotic Process

Abstract Single cell classification is elucidating homeostasis and pathology in tissues and whole organs. We applied in situ spatial proteomics by multiplex antibody staining to routinely processed mouse lung, healthy and during a fibrosis model. With a limited validated antibody panel (24) we classify the normal constituents (alveolar type I and II, bronchial epithelia, endothelial, muscular, stromal and hematopoietic cells) and by quantitative measurements, we show the progress of lung fibrosis over a 4 weeks course, the changing landscape and the cell-specific quantitative variation of a multidrug transporter. An early decline in AT2 alveolar cells and a progressive increase in stromal cells seems at the core of the fibrotic process.

scholarly journals Failure to Down-Regulate miR-154 Expression in Early Postnatal Mouse Lung Epithelium Suppresses Alveologenesis, with Changes in Tgf-β Signaling Similar to those Induced by Exposure to Hyperoxia

Cells ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 859 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cho-Ming Chao ◽  
Gianni Carraro ◽  
Zvonimir A. Rako ◽  
Johannes Kolck ◽  
Jamschid Sedighi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Lung Development ◽  
Mouse Lung ◽  
Alveolar Type ◽  
Lung Epithelium ◽  
Downstream Target ◽  
Developmental Program ◽  
The Common ◽  
Distal Lung ◽  
Preterm Born

Background: Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is a lung disease of preterm born infants, characterized by alveolar simplification. MicroRNA (miR) are known to be involved in many biological and pathological processes in the lung. Although a changed expression has been described for several miR in BPD, a causal role remains to be established. Results: Our results showed that the expression level of miR-154 increases during lung development and decreases postnatally. Further, hyperoxia treatment maintains high levels of miR-154 in alveolar type 2 cells (AT2). We hypothesized that the decrease in miR-154 expression in AT2 cells is required for normal alveologenesis. To test this hypothesis, we generated a novel transgenic mouse allowing doxycycline-based miR-154 overexpression. Maintenance of miR-154 expression in the postnatal distal lung epithelium under normoxia conditions is sufficient to reproduce the hypoalveologenesis phenotype triggered by hyperoxia. Using a pull-down assay, we identified Caveolin1 as a key downstream target of miR-154. Caveolin1 protein is downregulated in response to overexpression of miR-154. This is associated with increased phosphorylation of Smad3 and Tgf-ß signaling. We found that AT2 cells overexpressing miR-154 display decreased expression of AT2 markers and increased expression of AT1 markers. Conclusion: Our results suggest that down-regulation of miR-154 in postnatal lung may function as an important physiological switch that permits the induction of the correct alveolar developmental program, while conversely, failure to down-regulate miR-154 suppresses alveolarization, leading to the common clinically observed phenotype of alveolar simplification.

Carbon nanoparticle-induced lung epithelial cell proliferation is mediated by receptor-dependent Akt activation

2008 ◽  
Vol 294 (2) ◽  
pp. L358-L367 ◽  
Author(s):  
Klaus Unfried ◽  
Ulrich Sydlik ◽  
Katrin Bierhals ◽  
Alexander Weissenberg ◽  
Josef Abel
Keyword(s):  
Cell Proliferation ◽  
Epithelial Cells ◽  
Carbon Nanoparticles ◽  
Growth Factor Receptor ◽  
Lung Epithelial Cells ◽  
Alveolar Type ◽  
Specific Cell ◽  
Akt Inhibitor ◽  
Signaling Mechanism ◽  
Lung Epithelial

Treatment of lung epithelial cells with different kinds of nano-sized particles leads to cell proliferation. Because bigger particles fail to induce this reaction, it is suggested that the special surface properties, due to the extremely small size of these kinds of materials, is the common principle responsible for this specific cell reaction. Here the activation of the protein kinase B (Akt) signaling cascade by carbon nanoparticles was investigated with regard to its relevance for proliferation. Kinetics and dose-response experiments demonstrated that Akt is specifically activated by nanoparticulate carbon particles in rat alveolar type II epithelial cells as well as in human bronchial epithelial cells. This pathway appeared to be dependent on epidermal growth factor receptor and β1-integrins. The activation of Akt by these receptors is known to be a feature of adhesion-dependent signaling. However, intracellular proteins described in this context (focal adhesion kinase pp125FAK and integrin-linked kinase) were not activated, indicating a specific signaling mechanism. Inhibitor studies demonstrate that nanoparticle-induced proliferation is mediated by phosphoinositide 3-kinases and Akt. Moreover, overexpression of mutant Akt, as well as pretreatment with an Akt inhibitor, reduced nanoparticle-specific ERK1/2 phosphorylation, which is decisive for nanoparticle-induced proliferation. With this report, we describe the activation of a pathway by carbon nanoparticles that was so far known to be triggered by ligand receptor binding or on cell adhesion to extracellular matrix proteins.

Abrogation of mesenchyme-specific TGF-β signaling results in lung malformation with prenatal pulmonary cysts in mice

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qing Miao ◽  
Hui Chen ◽  
Yongfeng Luo ◽  
Joanne Chiu ◽  
Ling Chu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Lung Development ◽  
Muscle Growth ◽  
Branching Morphogenesis ◽  
Mouse Lung ◽  
Cystic Lesions ◽  
Alveolar Epithelial ◽  
Pulmonary Cysts ◽  
Β Receptor ◽  
Airway Branching

The TGF-β signaling pathway plays a pivotal role in controlling organogenesis during fetal development. Although the role of TGF-β signaling in promoting lung alveolar epithelial growth has been determined, mesenchymal TGF-β signaling in regulating lung development has not been studied in vivo due to a lack of genetic tools for specifically manipulating gene expression in lung mesenchymal cells. Therefore, the integral roles of TGF-β signaling in regulating lung development and congenital lung diseases are not completely understood. Using a Tbx4 lung enhancer-driven Tet-On inducible Cre transgenic mouse system, we have developed a mouse model in which lung mesenchyme-specific deletion of TGF-β receptor 2 gene (Tgfbr2) is achieved. Reduced airway branching accompanied by defective airway smooth muscle growth and later peripheral cystic lesions occurred when lung mesenchymal Tgfbr2 was deleted from embryonic day 13.5 to 15.5, resulting in postnatal death due to respiratory insufficiency. Although cell proliferation in both lung epithelium and mesenchyme was reduced, epithelial differentiation was not significantly affected. Tgfbr2 downstream Smad-independent ERK1/2 may mediate these mesenchymal effects of TGF-β signaling through the GSK3β--β-catenin--Wnt canonical pathway in fetal mouse lung. Our study suggests that Tgfbr2-mediated TGF-β signaling in prenatal lung mesenchyme is essential for lung development and maturation, and defective TGF-β signaling in lung mesenchyme may be related to abnormal airway branching morphogenesis and congenital airway cystic lesions.

Quantitative Analysis of Alveolar Type II Cell Tumors in Mice by Whole Lung Serial and Step Sections

1989 ◽  
Vol 17 (4_part_2) ◽  
pp. 737-742 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sabine Rehm ◽  
Jerrold M. Ward
Keyword(s):  
Mouse Lung ◽  
Alveolar Type ◽  
Type Ii ◽  
Serial Sections ◽  
Feasible Method ◽  
Alveolar Type Ii Cell ◽  
Microscopic Lesion ◽  
Entire Lung ◽  
Type Ii Cell ◽  
Mouse Lungs

Alveolar type II cell tumors were induced transplacentally by intraperitoneal injection of pregnant C3H/HeNCr MTV– or Swiss Webster mice with N-nitrosoethylurea at a dose of 0.5 mmol/kg and 0.74 mmol/kg. At different time points after birth (1–32 weeks), the entire lungs from 40 of the male offspring were inflated with Bouin's fixative, separated into lobes, and sectioned at 5 μm serially to detect every microscopic lesion. Results were compared with those obtained from examining only every 10th, 20th, or a single mid-level section from the same material. On average, 150 serial sections were prepared per mouse lung. Initially, only purely solid/alveolar or purely tubulopapillary types were observed but with tumor progression, papillary structures developed within solid tumors resulting in mixed neoplasms. Analyzing mouse lungs in step sections of every 10th section (50–60 μm), 5/238 (2%) of the tumors were missed, in step sections of every 20th section (100–120 μm), 16/238 (7%) of the tumors were not detected and usually less than half of the tumors were seen in the single mid-level section. The approximate size of the neoplasms is indicated by the total number of sections per tumor. The dimensions of tumors evaluated with step sections of 10 or 20 were comparable to the size observed with serial sections. It is concluded that the evaluation of mouse lung tumors in steps of approximately 50 μm is basically equivalent to the study of serial sections and appears to be a feasible method to assess the complete incidence, histological type, and size of all proliferative processes throughout the entire lung.

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