Differentiating stem cells into type II Pneumocytes
Type II Pneumocytes is also referred to as type II alveolar (ATII) cells. It is responsible for the production of the surfactant molecule that helps maintain the elasticity of the lungs and reduce the surface tension of the pulmonary fluids. These cells can be derived from murine Embryonic Stem Cells (ESCs) to promote lung regeneration and repair in case of an injury. The cell engineering can also help treat lung diseases.
According to Polak et al. (2006), previous experiments for obtaining ATII from ESCs had yielded low cell yield. This led to the development of an elaborate three-step-strategy that permitted inception of distal lung epithelial cells from the ESCs. As Malta, Fernandes and Biológica (2007) shows, the first step uses noggin, a differentiation factor, that was combined with Activin A. Activin A is used to induce the formation of endoderm and mesoderm. This is through the activation of the nodal signaling pathway that is vital in the development of endoderm in the embryo. This is followed, in the second step, by use of adherent culture in a serum-free medium. In the third step, a commercial, and the lung-specific medium is applied (Polak et al., 2006).
Haviland et al. (2007) also present another method of differentiating ATII cells from human Embryonic Stems cells (hES). In their experiment, they looked at the prospect of the formation of the ATII cells without the development of the embryo. hES cells were cultured on Matrigel-coated plates. The ATII cells were found present within five days, earlier than the previous method where the embryos formed. However, to achieve the higher rate of pure ATII cells, Haviland et al. (2007) propose the genetic change of the hES cells and the enrichment of the resultant cells via antibiotic selection.
References
Haviland, DL, Wang, D, Burns AR, Zsigmond E, Westel RA (2007) A pure population of lung alveolar epithelial type II cells derived from human embryonic stem cells. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A, 104(11), 4449-4454
Malta, B., Fernandes, D., & Biológica, E. (2016). Derivation of Type II Pneumocytes from Murine Embryonic Stem Cells: In Vivo Role in Lung Regeneration and Repair. ResearchGate. Retrieved 20 April 2016, from https://www.researchgate.net
Polak, J., Rippon, H.,, Qin, M., & Bishop, A. (2006). Derivation of Distal Lung Epithelial Progenitors from Murine Embryonic Stem Cells Using a Novel Three-Step Differentiation Protocol. Stem Cells, 24(5), 1389-1398.
