Airway epithelial stem cell chimerism in cystic fibrosis lung transplant recipients.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The conducting airway epithelium is repaired by tissue specific stem cells (TSC). In response to mild/moderate injury, each TSC repairs a discrete area of the epithelium. In contrast, severe epithelial injury stimulates TSC migration and expands the stem cell's reparative domain. Lung transplantation (LTx) can cause a moderate/severe airway injury and the remodeled airway contains a chimeric mixture of donor and recipient cells. These studies supported the hypothesis, LTx stimulates TSC migration resulting in epithelial chimerism. We tested this hypothesis in cystic fibrosis (CF) LTx patients.

Methods

Airway mucosal injury was quantified using bronchoscopic imaging and a novel grading system. Bronchial brushing was used to recover TSC from 10 sites in the recipien

SUBMITTER: Hayes D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9078212 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature