A new type of cell that resides deep within human lungs has been discovered by researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.
The researchers analyzed human lung tissue to identify the new cells, which they call respiratory airway secretory cells. The airway branches are deep in the lungs near the alveoli structures. RASCs have stem-cell-like properties that allow them to regenerate other cells that are essential for the normal functioning of alveoli. They found that cigarette smoking and COPD can disrupt the regeneration of RASCs, which could be a good way to treat COPD.
COPD is a devastating and common disease, yet we don't understand the cellular biology of why or how some patients develop it. Maria Basil, MD, PhD, an instructor of Pulmonary Medicine, said that identifying new cell types that are injured in COPD could really accelerate the development of new treatments.
Chronic inflammation and progressive damage to alveoli are the main causes of COPD. Approximately 10 percent of people in some parts of the United States are affected by it, and it causes 3 million deaths every year around the world. Steroids and/or oxygen therapy can be prescribed to patients, but they can only slow the disease process rather than stop it. The standard lab animal has lungs that lack key features of human lungs, so progress in understanding COPD has been gradual.
Morrisey and his team found evidence of RASCs while examining lung cells from healthy human donors. The cells that reside near alveoli are the secretory cells of the RASCs, which don't exist in mouse lungs.
Edward Morrisey, the Robinette Foundation Professor of Medicine, said that with studies like this we are starting to get a sense of what is happening in this disease.
The team discovered that RASCs are predecessors for AT2 cells, and that they have the same secretory function.
The researchers found evidence that defects in RASCs might be an upstream cause of AT2 cells becoming abnormal in COPD and other lung diseases. In lung tissue from people with COPD, as well as from people without COPD who have a history of smoking, they observed many AT2 cells that were altered in a way that suggested a faulty RASC-to-AT2 transformation.
Morrisey said more research is needed, but the findings point to the possibility of future COPD treatments that work by restoring the normal RASC-to-AT2 differentiation process.
More information: Maria C. Basil et al, Human distal airways contain a multipotent secretory cell that can regenerate alveoli, Nature (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-04552-0 Journal information: Nature Citation: Researchers discover new cell type in human lung with regenerative properties (2022, April 4) retrieved 4 April 2022 from https://phys.org/news/2022-04-cell-human-lung-regenerative-properties.html This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.
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