PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - yiwen yao
AU  - Felix Ritzmann
AU  - Alex Zimmer
AU  - Robert Bals
AU  - Christoph Beisswenger
TI  - Fibroblasts drive the differentiation of murine pneumocytes in air-liquid interface cultures
AID  - 10.1183/23120541.LSC-2022.121
DP  - 2022 Mar 10
TA  - ERJ Open Research
PG  - 121
VI  - 8
IP  - suppl 8
4099  - http://openres.ersjournals.com/content/8/suppl_8/121.short
4100  - http://openres.ersjournals.com/content/8/suppl_8/121.full
SO  - erjor2022 Mar 10; 8
AB  - Recent studies showed that Typ 2 pneumocyte proliferation and differentiation is required for pulmonary homeostasis and tissue regeneration. A disturbed crosstalk of fibroblasts with pneumocytes likely contributes to loss of pulmonary function in chronic lung diseases, such as COPD and IPF. It is therefore of interest to develop tissue culture models that allow to study the interaction of fibroblasts with pneumocytes. Here, we show that primary fibroblasts drive the differentiation of murine pneumocytes in air-liquid interface cultures. Co-cultures of primary pneumocytes with fibroblasts resulted in a significantly increased trans-epithelial resistance and increased expression of Typ 2 and Typ 1 markers (e.g. Sftpc, Hopx), tight junction factors (e.g. Claudin 18) and Cyclin D1. The deficiency for DKK3, a factor described being involved in Wnt-signaling, effected pneumocyte differentiation indicating a function for DKK3 in lung regeneration. Our co-culture model is useful for studying cellular mechanisms that mediate the fibroblasts-driven differentiation of pneumocytes.FootnotesCite this article as ERJ Open Research 2022; 8: Suppl. 8, 121.This article was presented at the 2022 ERS Lung Science Conference, in session “Poster Session 2”.This is an ERS Lung Science Conference abstract. No full-text version is available. Further material to accompany this abstract may be available at www.ers-education.org (ERS member access only).