Alveolar epithelial cells and microenvironmental stiffness synergistically drive fibroblast activation in three-dimensional hydrogel lung models.

ABSTRACT: Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a devastating lung disease that progressively and irreversibly alters the lung parenchyma, eventually leading to respiratory failure. The study of this disease has been historically challenging due to the myriad of complex processes that contribute to fibrogenesis and the inherent difficulty in accurately recreating the human pulmonary environment in vitro. Here, we describe a poly(ethylene glycol) PEG hydrogel-based three-dimensional model for the co-culture of primary murine pulmonary fibroblasts and alveolar epithelial cells that reproduces the micro-architecture, cell placement, and mechanical properties of healthy and fibrotic lung tissue. Co-cultured cells retained normal levels of viability up to at least three weeks and displayed differ

SUBMITTER: Caracena T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9729409 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature