Journal
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF RESPIRATORY AND CRITICAL CARE MEDICINE
Volume 186, Issue 9, Pages 866-876Publisher
AMER THORACIC SOC
DOI: 10.1164/rccm.201204-0754OC
Keywords
extracellular matrix; lung fibrosis; fibroblast
Categories
Funding
- National Institutes of Health [R01 HL085083, U01 HL111016]
- Drews Sarcoidosis Research Fund
- Martin Edward Galvin Fund for Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis Research
- Health Effects Institute at Georgia Institute of Technology
- National Institutes of Health training grant [T32 HL07749]
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Rationale: Extracellular matrix (ECM) is a dynamic tissue that contributes to organ integrity and function, and its regulation of cell phenotype is a major aspect of cell biology. However, standard in vitro culture approaches are of unclear physiologic relevance because they do not mimic the compositional, architectural, or distensible nature of a living organ. In the lung, fibroblasts exist in ECM-rich interstitial spaces and are key effectors of lung fibrogenesis. Objectives: To better address how ECM influences fibroblast phenotype in a disease-specific manner, we developed a culture system using acellular human normal and fibrotic lungs. Methods: Decellularization was achieved using treatment with detergents, salts, and DNase. The resultant matrices can be sectioned as uniform slices within which cells were cultured. Measurements and Main Results: We report that the decellularization process effectively removes cellular and nuclear material while retaining native dimensionality and stiffness of lung tissue. We demonstrate that lung fibroblasts reseeded into acellular lung matrices can be subsequently assayed using conventional protocols; in this manner we show that fibrotic matrices clearly promote transforming growth factor-beta-independent myofibroblast differentiation compared with normal matrices. Furthermore, comprehensive analysis of acellular matrix ECM details significant compositional differences between normal and fibrotic lungs, paving the way for further study of novel hypotheses. Conclusions: This methodology is expected to allow investigation of important ECM-based hypotheses in human tissues and permits future scientific exploration in an organ- and disease-specific manner.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available