Transitional human alveolar type II epithelial cells suppress extracellular matrix and growth factor gene expression in lung fibroblasts.

Transitional human alveolar type II epithelial cells suppress extracellular matrix and growth factor gene expression in lung fibroblasts. Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol. 2019 Jun 05;: Authors: Correll KA, Edeen KE, Zemans RL, Redente EF, Serban KA, Curran-Everett D, Edelman BL, Mikels-Vigdal A, Mason RJ Abstract Epithelial-fibroblast interactions are thought to be very important in adult lung remodeling and fibrosis, but the specifics of these interactions are not well defined. We developed co-culture systems to define the effects of adult human alveolar epithelial cells on lung fibroblasts. Alveolar type II cells cultured on floating collagen gels reduced the expression of type 1 collagen (COL1A1) and alpha smooth muscle actin (ACTA2) in fibroblasts. They also reduced fibroblast expression of hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), fibroblast growth factor 7 (FGF7, KGF), and FGF10. When type II cells were cultured at an air/liquid interface to maintain high levels of surfactant protein expression, this inhibitory activity was lost. When type II cells were cultured on collagen coated tissue culture wells, to reduce surfactant protein expression and increase the expression of some type I cell markers, the epithelial cells suppressed TGF beta stimulated COL1A1, ACTA2, and connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) expression in lung fibroblasts. Our results suggest that spreading "reparative" alveolar type II cells and likely type I cells but ...
Source: American Journal of Physiology. Lung Cellular and Molecular Physiology - Category: Cytology Authors: Tags: Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol Source Type: research