Journal
STEM CELLS AND DEVELOPMENT
Volume 23, Issue 22, Pages 2744-2757Publisher
MARY ANN LIEBERT, INC
DOI: 10.1089/scd.2013.0631
Keywords
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Funding
- NIH [P01 HL060678, R01 HL071626]
- UIC CCTS Grant [UL1RR029879]
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The existence and identity of multipotent stem cells in the adult lung is currently highly debated. At present, it remains unclear whether candidate stem/progenitor cells are located in the airways, alveoli, or throughout the epithelial lining of the lung. Here, we introduce a method of airway microdissection, which enabled us to study the progenitor behavior of pulmonary epithelial cells in region-specific contexts. The progenitor characteristics of epithelial cells isolated from the trachea, proximal and distal airways, and lung parenchyme were evaluated in vitro and in vivo. We identified a population of airway-derived basal-like epithelial cells with the potential to self-renew and differentiate into airway and alveolar lineages in culture and in vivo after subcutaneous transplantation. The multipotent candidate progenitors originated from a minor fraction of the airway epithelial cell population characterized by high expression of alpha 6 integrin. Results of the current study provide new insights into the regenerative potential of region-specific integrin alpha 6-positive pulmonary epithelial cells.
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