scholarly journals The Promise of Lung Organoids for Growth and Investigation of Pneumocystis Species

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nikeya Tisdale-Macioce ◽  
Jenna Green ◽  
Anne-Karina T. Perl ◽  
Alan Ashbaugh ◽  
Nathan P. Wiederhold ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Epithelial Cells ◽  
Culture System ◽  
Ex Vivo ◽  
Alveolar Type ◽  
Proof Of Concept ◽  
3 Dimensional ◽  
Alveolar Epithelial

Pneumocystis species (spp.) are host-obligate fungal parasites that colonize and propagate almost exclusively in the alveolar lumen within the lungs of mammals where they can cause a lethal pneumonia. The emergence of this pneumonia in non-HIV infected persons caused by Pneumocystis jirovecii (PjP), illustrates the continued importance of and the need to understand its associated pathologies and to develop new therapies and preventative strategies. In the proposed life cycle, Pneumocystis spp. attach to alveolar type 1 epithelial cells (AEC1) and prevent gas exchange. This process among other mechanisms of Pneumocystis spp. pathogenesis is challenging to observe in real time due to the absence of a continuous ex vivo or in vitro culture system. The study presented here provides a proof-of-concept for the development of murine lung organoids that mimic the lung alveolar sacs expressing alveolar epithelial type 1 cells (AEC1) and alveolar type 2 epithelial cells (AEC2). Use of these 3-dimensional organoids should facilitate studies of a multitude of unanswered questions and serve as an improved means to screen new anti- PjP agents.

Fluid transport across cultured rat alveolar epithelial cells: a novel in vitro system

2004 ◽  
Vol 287 (1) ◽  
pp. L104-L110 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaohui Fang ◽  
Yuanlin Song ◽  
Rachel Zemans ◽  
Jan Hirsch ◽  
Michael A. Matthay
Keyword(s):  
Epithelial Cells ◽  
Fluid Transport ◽  
Alveolar Epithelial Cells ◽  
Lung Epithelial Cells ◽  
Morphological Evidence ◽  
Alveolar Type ◽  
Type Ii ◽  
In Vitro System ◽  
Alveolar Epithelial

Previous studies have used fluid-instilled lungs to measure net alveolar fluid transport in intact animal and human lungs. However, intact lung studies have two limitations: the contribution of different distal lung epithelial cells cannot be studied separately, and the surface area for fluid absorption can only be approximated. Therefore, we developed a method to measure net vectorial fluid transport in cultured rat alveolar type II cells using an air-liquid interface. The cells were seeded on 0.4-μm microporous inserts in a Transwell system. At 96 h, the transmembrane electrical resistance reached a peak level (1,530 ± 115 Ω·cm2) with morphological evidence of tight junctions. We measured net fluid transport by placing 150 μl of culture medium containing 0.5 μCi of 131I-albumin on the apical side of the polarized cells. Protein permeability across the cell monolayer, as measured by labeled albumin, was 1.17 ± 0.34% over 24 h. The change in concentration of 131I-albumin in the apical fluid was used to determine the net fluid transported across the monolayer over 12 and 24 h. The net basal fluid transport was 0.84 μl·cm−2·h−1. cAMP stimulation with forskolin and IBMX increased fluid transport by 96%. Amiloride inhibited both the basal and stimulated fluid transport. Ouabain inhibited basal fluid transport by 93%. The cultured cells retained alveolar type II-like features based on morphologic studies, including ultrastructural imaging. In conclusion, this novel in vitro system can be used to measure net vectorial fluid transport across cultured, polarized alveolar epithelial cells.

Murine Alveolar Epithelial Cells and Their Lentivirus-mediated Immortalisation

2018 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 73-89
Author(s):  
Sandra Sapich ◽  
Marius Hittinger ◽  
Remi Hendrix-Jastrzebski ◽  
Urska Repnik ◽  
Gareth Griffiths ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Epithelial Cells ◽  
Cell Lines ◽  
Experimental Testing ◽  
Barrier Properties ◽  
Alveolar Epithelial Cells ◽  
Mouse Strains ◽  
Alveolar Type ◽  
Inhalation Toxicity ◽  
Alveolar Epithelial

In this study, we describe the isolation and immortalisation of primary murine alveolar epithelial cells (mAEpC), as well as their epithelial differentiation and barrier properties when grown on Transwell® inserts. Like human alveolar epithelial cells (hAEpC), mAEpC transdifferentiate in vitro from an alveolar type II (ATII) phenotype to an ATI-like phenotype and exhibit features of the air–blood barrier, such as the establishment of a thin monolayer with functional tight junctions (TJs). This is demonstrated by the expression of TJ proteins (ZO-1 and occludin) and the development of high transepithelial electrical resistance (TEER), peaking at 1800ω•cm2. Transport across the air–blood barrier, for general toxicity assessments or preclinical drug development, is typically studied in mice. The aim of this work was the generation of novel immortalised murine lung cell lines, to help meet Three Rs requirements in experimental testing and research. To achieve this goal, we lentivirally transduced mAEpC of two different mouse strains with a library of 33 proliferation-promoting genes. With this immortalisation approach, we obtained two murine alveolar epithelial lentivirus-immortalised (mAELVi) cell lines. Both showed similar TJ protein localisation, but exhibited less prominent barrier properties (TEERmax ~250Ω•cm2) when compared to their primary counterparts. While mAEpC demonstrated their suitability for use in the assessment of paracellular transport rates, mAELVi cells could potentially replace mice for the prediction of acute inhalation toxicity during early ADMET studies.

scholarly journals Adipose Tissue-Derived Stem Cells Have the Ability to Differentiate into Alveolar Epithelial Cells and Ameliorate Lung Injury Caused by Elastase-Induced Emphysema in Mice

2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eriko Fukui ◽  
Soichiro Funaki ◽  
Kenji Kimura ◽  
Toru Momozane ◽  
Atsuomi Kimura ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Stem Cells ◽  
Adipose Tissue ◽  
Epithelial Cells ◽  
Lung Injury ◽  
Alveolar Epithelial Cells ◽  
Chronic Obstructive ◽  
Alveolar Cells ◽  
Alveolar Epithelial

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is a leading cause of mortality globally, with no effective therapy yet established. Adipose tissue-derived stem cells (ADSCs) are useful for ameliorating lung injury in animal models. However, whether ADSCs differentiate into functional cells remains uncertain, and no study has reported on the mechanism by which ADSCs improve lung functionality. Thus, in this study, we examined whether ADSCs differentiate into lung alveolar cells and are able to ameliorate lung injury caused by elastase-induced emphysema in model mice. Here, we induced ADSCs to differentiate into type 2 alveolar epithelial cells in vitro. We demonstrated that ADSCs can differentiate into type 2 alveolar epithelial cells in an elastase-induced emphysematous lung and that ADSCs improve pulmonary function of emphysema model mice, as determined with spirometry and 129Xe MRI. These data revealed a novel function for ADSCs in promoting repair of the damaged lung by direct differentiation into alveolar epithelial cells.

Apoptosis and DNA damage in type 2 alveolar epithelial cells cultured from hyperoxic rats

1998 ◽  
Vol 274 (5) ◽  
pp. L714-L720 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sue Buckley ◽  
Lora Barsky ◽  
Barbara Driscoll ◽  
Kenneth Weinberg ◽  
Kathryn D. Anderson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Dna Damage ◽  
Epithelial Cells ◽  
Cellular Response ◽  
Ex Vivo ◽  
Keratinocyte Growth Factor ◽  
Alveolar Epithelial Cells ◽  
Alveolar Epithelial ◽  
Dna Laddering

Apoptosis is a genetically controlled cellular response to developmental stimuli and environmental insult that culminates in cell death. Sublethal hyperoxic injury in rodents is characterized by a complex but reproducible pattern of lung injury and repair during which the alveolar surface is damaged, denuded, and finally repopulated by type 2 alveolar epithelial cells (AEC2). Postulating that apoptosis might occur in AEC2 after hyperoxic injury, we looked for the hallmarks of apoptosis in AEC2 from hyperoxic rats. A pattern of increased DNA end labeling, DNA laddering, and induction of p53, p21, and Bax proteins, strongly suggestive of apoptosis, was seen in AEC2 cultured from hyperoxic rats when compared with control AEC2. In contrast, significant apoptosis was not detected in freshly isolated AEC2 from oxygen-treated rats. Thus the basal culture conditions appeared to be insufficient to ensure the ex vivo survival of AEC2 damaged in vivo. The oxygen-induced DNA strand breaks were blocked by the addition of 20 ng/ml of keratinocyte growth factor (KGF) to the culture medium from the time of plating and were partly inhibited by Matrigel or a soluble extract of Matrigel. KGF treatment resulted in a partial reduction in the expression of the p21, p53, and Bax proteins but had no effect on DNA laddering. We conclude that sublethal doses of oxygen in vivo cause damage to AEC2, resulting in apoptosis in ex vivo culture, and that KGF can reduce the oxygen-induced DNA damage. We speculate that KGF plays a role as a survival factor in AEC2 by limiting apoptosis in the lung after acute hyperoxic injury.

scholarly journals Cross-talk between LAM cells and fibroblasts may influence alveolar epithelial cell behavior in Lymphangioleiomyomatosis

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Debbie Clements ◽  
Suzanne Miller ◽  
Roya Babaei-Jadidi ◽  
Mike Adam ◽  
S. Steven Potter ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Epithelial Cells ◽  
Cross Talk ◽  
Ex Vivo ◽  
Alveolar Epithelial Cell ◽  
Alveolar Epithelial Cells ◽  
Dependent Manner ◽  
Epithelial Migration ◽  
Alveolar Epithelial

Lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM) is a female specific cystic lung disease in which TSC2 deficient LAM cells, LAM-Associated Fibroblasts (LAFs) and other cell types infiltrate the lungs. LAM lesions can be associated with type II alveolar epithelial cells (AT2 cells). We hypothesised that the behaviour of AT2 cells in LAM is influenced locally by LAFs. We tested this hypothesis in patient samples and in vitro. In human LAM lung, nodular AT2 cells show enhanced proliferation when compared to parenchymal AT2 cells, demonstrated by increased Ki67 expression. Further, nodular AT2 cells express proteins associated with epithelial activation in other disease states including Matrix Metalloproteinase 7, and Fibroblast Growth Factor 7 (FGF7). In vitro, LAF conditioned medium is mitogenic and positively chemotactic for epithelial cells, increases the rate of epithelial repair and protects against apoptosis. In vitro, LAM patient-derived TSC2 null cells cocultured with LAFs upregulate LAF expression of the epithelial chemokine and mitogen FGF7, which is a potential mediator of fibroblast-epithelial crosstalk, in an mTOR dependent manner. In a novel in vitro model of LAM, ex vivo cultured LAM lung-derived microtissues promote both epithelial migration and adhesion. Our findings suggest that AT2 cells in LAM display a proliferative, activated phenotype and that fibroblast accumulation following LAM cell infiltration into the parenchyma contributes to this change in AT2 cell behaviour. Fibroblast-derived FGF7 may contribute to the cross-talk between LAFs and hyperplastic epithelium in vivo, but does not appear to be the main driver of the effects of LAFs on epithelial cells in vitro.

Comparative expression of hCG β-genes in human trophoblast from early and late first-trimester placentas

2012 ◽  
Vol 303 (8) ◽  
pp. E950-E958 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Cocquebert ◽  
S. Berndt ◽  
N. Segond ◽  
J. Guibourdenche ◽  
P. Murthi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ex Vivo ◽  
Primary Cultures ◽  
First Trimester ◽  
Maternal Serum ◽  
Human Trophoblast ◽  
Intervillous Space ◽  
Β Hcg

Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) displays a major role in pregnancy initiation and progression and is involved in trophoblast differentiation and fusion. However, the site and the type of dimeric hCG production during the first trimester of pregnancy is poorly known. At that time, trophoblastic plugs present in the uterine arteries disappear, allowing unrestricted flow of maternal blood to the intervillous space. The consequence is an important modification of the trophoblast environment, including a rise of oxygen levels from about 2.5% before 10 wk of amenorrhea (WA) to ∼8% after 12 WA. Two specific β-hCG proteins that differ from three amino acids have been described: type 1 (CGB7) and type 2 (CGB3, -5, and -8). Here, we demonstrated in situ and ex vivo on placental villi and in vitro in primary cultures of human cytotrophoblasts that type 1 and 2 β-hCG RNAs and proteins were expressed by trophoblasts and that these expressions were higher before blood enters in the intervillous space (8–9 vs. 12–14 WA). hCG was immunodetected in villous mononucleated cytotrophoblasts (VCT) and syncytiotrophoblast (ST) at 8–9 WA but only in ST at 12–14 WA. Furthermore, hCG secretion was fourfold higher in VCT cultures from 8–9 WA compared with 12–14 WA. Interestingly, VCT from 8–9 WA placentas were found to exhibit more fusion features. Taken together, we showed that type 1 and type 2 β-hCG are highly expressed by VCT in the early first trimester, contributing to the high levels of hCG found in maternal serum at this term.

scholarly journals Modulation of T1α expression with alveolar epithelial cell phenotype in vitro

1998 ◽  
Vol 275 (1) ◽  
pp. L155-L164 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zea Borok ◽  
Spencer I. Danto ◽  
Richard L. Lubman ◽  
Yuxia Cao ◽  
Mary C. Williams ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Epithelial Cell ◽  
Epithelial Cells ◽  
Cell Shape ◽  
Alveolar Epithelial Cell ◽  
Cell Phenotype ◽  
Alveolar Type ◽  
Type I ◽  
Soluble Factors ◽  
Alveolar Epithelial

T1α is a recently identified gene expressed in the adult rat lung by alveolar type I (AT1) epithelial cells but not by alveolar type II (AT2) epithelial cells. We evaluated the effects of modulating alveolar epithelial cell (AEC) phenotype in vitro on T1α expression using either soluble factors or changes in cell shape to influence phenotype. For studies on the effects of soluble factors on T1α expression, rat AT2 cells were grown on polycarbonate filters in serum-free medium (MDSF) or in MDSF supplemented with either bovine serum (BS, 10%), rat serum (RS, 5%), or keratinocyte growth factor (KGF, 10 ng/ml) from either day 0 or day 4 through day 8 in culture. For studies on the effects of cell shape on T1α expression, AT2 cells were plated on thick collagen gels in MDSF supplemented with BS. Gels were detached on either day 1(DG1) or day 4 (DG4) or were left attached until day 8. RNA and protein were harvested at intervals between days 1 and 8 in culture, and T1α expression was quantified by Northern and Western blotting, respectively. Expression of T1α progressively increases in AEC grown in MDSF ± BS between day 1 and day 8 in culture, consistent with transition toward an AT1 cell phenotype. Exposure to RS or KGF from day 0 prevents the increase in T1α expression on day 8, whereas addition of either factor from day 4 through day 8 reverses the increase. AEC cultured on attached gels express high levels of T1α on days 4 and 8. T1α expression is markedly inhibited in both DG1 and DG4 cultures, consistent with both inhibition and reversal of the transition toward the AT1 cell phenotype. These results demonstrate that both soluble factors and alterations in cell shape modulate T1α expression in parallel with AEC phenotype and provide further support for the concept that transdifferentiation between AT2 and AT1 cell phenotypes is at least partially reversible.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document