| First Author | Hung C | Year | 2013 |
| Journal | Am J Respir Crit Care Med | Volume | 188 |
| Issue | 7 | Pages | 820-30 |
| PubMed ID | 23924232 | Mgi Jnum | J:315269 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:6829952 | Doi | 10.1164/rccm.201212-2297OC |
| Citation | Hung C, et al. (2013) Role of lung pericytes and resident fibroblasts in the pathogenesis of pulmonary fibrosis. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 188(7):820-30 |
| abstractText | RATIONALE: The origin of cells that make pathologic fibrillar collagen matrix in lung disease has been controversial. Recent studies suggest mesenchymal cells may contribute directly to fibrosis. OBJECTIVES: To characterize discrete populations of mesenchymal cells in the normal mouse lung and to map their fate after bleomycin-induced lung injury. METHODS: We mapped the fate of Foxd1-expressing embryonic progenitors and their progeny during lung development, adult homeostasis, and after fibrosing injury in Foxd1-Cre; Rs26-tdTomato-R mice. We studied collagen-I(alpha)1-producing cells in normal and diseased lungs using Coll-GFP(Tg) mice. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Foxd1-expressing embryonic progenitors enter lung buds before 13.5 days post-conception, expand, and form an extensive lineage of mesenchymal cells that have characteristics of pericytes. A collagen-I(alpha)1-expressing mesenchymal population of distinct lineage is also found in adult lung, with features of a resident fibroblast. In contrast to resident fibroblasts, Foxd1 progenitor-derived pericytes are enriched in transcripts for innate immunity, vascular development, WNT signaling pathway, and cell migration. Foxd1 progenitor-derived pericytes expand after bleomycin lung injury, and activate expression of collagen-I(alpha)1 and the myofibroblast marker alphaSMA in fibrotic foci. In addition, our studies suggest a distinct lineage of collagen-I(alpha)1-expressing resident fibroblasts that also expands after lung injury is a second major source of myofibroblasts. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that the lung contains an extensive population of Foxd1 progenitor-derived pericytes that are an important lung myofibroblast precursor population. |
