肺干细胞和肺癌干细胞研究进展

近年来成体干细胞研究进展迅速。肺干细胞和肺癌干细胞在表面标志、分离方法和功能研究等方面也取得了一定进展。在肺组织中,肺干细胞维持着肺上皮的更新和稳定,肺脏不同解剖结构存在不同的干细胞,主要的肺干细胞有气管—支气管干细胞、细支气管干细胞、细支气管肺泡干细胞和肺泡干细胞等,不同干细胞特异表面标志也不同。根据肿瘤干细胞理论,目前研究认为肺癌的发生与肺癌干细胞有关,肺癌干细胞来源于其对应肺干细胞的恶性转化。肺癌干细胞特异标志研究主要集中在侧群细胞、CD133和醛脱氢酶等。与其他成体干细胞相似,肺癌干细胞维持自我更新以及分化能力的信号通路主要有Wnt、Hedgehog和Notch通路等。肺癌干细胞与肺癌的发生、发展、转移、治疗反应及预后关系,也取得了一定的进展。该文对肺干细胞和肺癌干细胞研究进展作简要综述。     

实验动物呼吸系统主要器官比较组织学研究

目的比较实验动物呼吸系统主要器官的组织学特征,为制定实验动物病理检测标准、以及毒理学、新药安全性评价提供依据。方法选取实验动物质量国家检测标准检测合格的恒河猴30只、昆明小鼠20只、SD大鼠20只、日本大耳白兔18只、比格犬16只、树鼩20只。除昆明小鼠采用颈椎脱臼致死外,其余动物麻醉后放血处死和病理解剖,对气管、肺脏进行病理大体检查和取材,常规病理制片,进行HE染色、特殊染色和免疫组化染色,显微镜下观察气管、肺脏的组织结构和细胞结构异同。结果 （1）实验动物气管上皮杯状细胞有差异：恒河猴、比格犬、日本大耳白兔杯状细胞较多,大鼠、小鼠、树鼩则较少或无。上皮分泌的黏液类型以中性黏液为主,比格犬杯状细胞分泌的黏液类型有中性黏液和酸性黏液。（2）实验动物黏膜下腺泡分布有差异：比格犬黏膜下层的腺泡最多,恒河猴、大鼠、小鼠、树鼩腺泡数量偏少,日本大耳白兔黏膜下层的混合腺泡最少。（3）实验动物的肺内支气管分支有差异：比格犬、恒河猴、日本大耳白兔由叶支气管、段支气管、小支气管、细支气管、终末细支气管和呼吸性细支气管组成,树鼩、大鼠、小鼠只由细支气管、终末细支气管和呼吸性细支气管组成。（4）实验动物细支气管组织结构有差异：恒河猴、比格犬的细支气管平滑肌为完整环形平滑肌层,没有缺失,而大鼠、小鼠、树鼩及日本大耳白兔的细支气管平滑肌薄或缺失。恒河猴、树鼩、大鼠细支气管有少量杯状细胞,其余实验动物均无杯状细胞。（5）实验动物Clara细胞形态有差异：比格犬Clara细胞呈立方形,其余动物呈柱状。结论实验动物呼吸系统组织结构的质是相同的,差异在于量的不同。研究人员在制定病理学检测标准、实验研究、药物安全性评价时应予充分考虑。     

肺多潜能上皮干细胞在肺损伤修复中的作用

肺作为一个复杂的多功能器官,对人类生存至关重要。肺上皮细胞对维持肺脏功能和修复肺脏损伤具有重要作用。近年来研究认为,位于细支气管与肺泡交界处有一种肺干细胞,即支气管肺泡干细胞(bronchioalveolar stem cells, BASCs),但由于体内示踪BASCs的技术瓶颈,该干细胞是否具有再生为肺脏上皮细胞的能力一直存在争论。中国科学院生物化学与细胞生物学研究所周斌研究团队及其合作者的最新研究成果利用双同源重组系统(Cre-loxP和Dre-rox)特异性标记和示踪BASCs,并结合不同小鼠肺脏损伤模型揭示,BASCs在体内具有再生肺脏的能力,为肺脏的修复和再生研究提供了新的理论基础及研究方向。     

牦牛胎儿肺脏发育的形态学研究

本实验选取40份不同胎龄的牦牛肺脏样本,通过组织学和组织化学的方法对牦牛肺发育过程进行研究,旨在为发育生物学提供形态学资料.结果表明,牦牛胚胎肺发育可分为5个时期:(1)胚胎期(30～50 d),胚胎出现肺芽,其分支形成主支气管,进一步分出叶支气管,上皮均为假复层柱状上皮; (2)假腺期(50～120 d),支气管树发育明显,末端终蕾结构似腺体,为假复层柱状上皮;(3)小管期(120 ～180 d),呼吸部发育明显,终蕾腺泡样结构消失,可见多处管状分支,上皮为单层柱状或单层立方;(4)囊状期(180 ～220d),终囊管壁由较厚肺泡隔及原始肺泡组成,少数原始肺泡上皮分化为扁平的肺泡Ⅰ型细胞和立方形的肺泡Ⅱ型细胞;(5)肺泡期(220 ～ 260 d),形成肺泡,大部分上皮细胞分化为扁平的肺泡Ⅰ型细胞和立方形的肺泡Ⅱ型细胞.胚胎期和假腺期支气管和终蕾上皮的糖原含量丰富,从小管期开始,上皮细胞糖原含量开始急剧减少.之后的几个时期,只有导气部个别上皮细胞PAS反应呈阳性.实验结果表明:牦牛胎儿的肺脏发育的特点与普通牛的基本相似,主要不同点是牦牛的囊状期较短,肺泡期较长,即牦牛胎儿的肺脏更早发育成熟.     

黑熊肺脏光,电镜观察

本文采用光镜,扫描及透射电镜对成体黑熊肺脏组织进行观察。结果表明：黑熊肺脏和其它哺动物肺脏结构基本相似,亦由支气管各级分支,肺小叶及小叶间结缔组织构成,每个细支气管连同它的各级分支和肺泡组成一个肺小叶,肺泡是支气管树的终末部分,呈多面囊形泡,肺泡壁有Ｉ,ＩＩ两种类型上皮细胞。气－血屏障由肺泡上皮,上皮基膜,内皮基膜和内皮四层结构组成,厚约０．５μｍ。     

白暨豚气管和肺的解剖和组织学的研究

白鱀豚的肺分左右2叶,不分小叶,肺门位置高。气管分叉成左右主支气管和气管支气管,气管支气管分叉点的位置较高,情形与拉河豚相近。3条主支气管进入肺以后便成为肺内支气管树的主干,其分支的分布区可暗示假定肺叶的存在(共5叶,左2右3)。从气管起一直到呼吸性支气管都存在软骨组织。气管的粘膜上皮为假复层纤毛柱状上皮,夹有杯状细胞。主支气管为单层柱状上皮,无杯状细胞。小支气管和细支气管又变为假复层纤毛柱状上皮,杯状细胞少。细支气管以下逐步改变为单层柱状上皮和立方上皮。各级支气管均未见腺体存在。从呼吸性细支气管到肺泡管的通道口,有括约肌存在。各级支气管一直到肺泡壁均有平滑肌存在,从断续出现到连续的环层。弹性纤维在整个气管均很丰富。       

白鱀豚气管和肺的解剖和组织学的研究

白鱀豚的肺分左右2叶,不分小叶,肺门位置高。气管分叉成左右主支气管和气管支气管,气管支气管分叉点的位置较高,情形与拉河豚相近。3条主支气管进入肺以后便成为肺内支气管树的主干,其分支的分布区可暗示假定肺叶的存在(共5叶,左2右3)。从气管起一直到呼吸性支气管都存在软骨组织。气管的粘膜上皮为假复层纤毛柱状上皮,夹有杯状细胞。主支气管为单层柱状上皮,无杯状细胞。小支气管和细支气管又变为假复层纤毛柱状上皮,杯状细胞少。细支气管以下逐步改变为单层柱状上皮和立方上皮。各级支气管均未见腺体存在。从呼吸性细支气管到肺泡管的通道口,有括约肌存在。各级支气管一直到肺泡壁均有平滑肌存在,从断续出现到连续的环层。弹性纤维在整个气管均很丰富。     

受体型酪氨酸激酶RON在人细支气管肺泡癌发病机理中的作用

细支气管肺泡癌（bronchioloalveolar carcinoma,BAC）是一种以在肺泡和终末细支气管生长为主要特征的肺癌,占全部肺癌的5％-10％。近期BAC的发病率呈上升趋势。绵羊肺腺病是一种在病理形态上与人BAC极其类似的肺恶性肿瘤,病因是Jaagsiekte绵羊逆转录病毒。然而,人BAC的病因及发病机理至今不明。受体型酪氨酸激酶RON是原癌基因MET家族的一员,RON及其变异体在人BAC样品中呈高度的异常表达。转基因小鼠的实验进一步证明,定向性的在肺泡二型上皮细胞中表达RON,能诱发具有人BAC特征的小鼠肺肿瘤,RON致癌的基础是其传导的异常信息途径。采用特异性siRNA和单克隆抗体干扰RON的表达,能抑制RON介导的BAC的生长。因此,RON的异常表达是特异性药物作用的靶点,阐明原癌基因RON在BAC发病机理中的作用具有重要的临床意义。     

肺腺癌干细胞表达小细胞肺癌相关抗原的实验研究

肿瘤干细胞（cancerstem cells,csc）是指一类具有自我更新（self-renewal）能力的未分化细胞。在肺腺癌中,csc的自我更新调控机制类似胚胎干细胞,即高表达OCT4、Nanog和Sox2}潜能基因,但目前对其表型特征尚存争议。该文采用成球试验（sphere—formingassay）AkSPC—A1细胞株中富集CSC后进行分子表型分析。结果显示,此类肺球体细胞（pulmospheres）同时表达肺脏近端和远端呼吸上皮的多个谱系（1ineage）标志,包括纤毛柱状细胞标志FoxJl、非纤毛柱状细胞（即Clara细胞）标志CCSP、肺神经肉分泌细胞标志GRP、II型肺泡细胞标志SP-C及其转录调控因子TTF-1。这些肺球体细胞也能够被3株小细胞肺癌特异性单抗（2F7、483和E6）所识别。通过基因沉默技术使得肺球体细胞中OCT4表达转阴后,上述标志（除E6P外）均消失。研究结果揭示,肺癌CSC具有肺脏呼吸上皮多潜能细胞的表型特征。此外,初步研究结果发现,中药冬虫夏草（Hirsutella Hepialid of Cordyceps Sinensis）的被毛孢菌丝体中含有新颖抗癌成分,能够显著遏制肺球体细胞增殖,提示对其进行分离鉴定,将是研制开发肺癌CSC靶向药物的一个发展方向。     

肺干/祖细胞代谢与呼吸系统疾病研究进展

呼吸系统疾病的全球死亡率居高不下,多种疾病至今仍缺乏根治手段。其中,肺癌、哮喘、特发性肺纤维化和慢性阻塞性肺疾病等难治性疾病都与肺干/祖细胞的调节和功能异常密切相关。在呼吸系统中,不同区域分布着不同类型的肺干/祖细胞。肺干/祖细胞具有自我更新、增殖与分化功能,肺部的损伤修复离不开肺干/祖细胞的这些功能。因此,负责肺脏再生的肺干/祖细胞受到越来越多的关注。研究表明,肺干/祖细胞的功能与糖酵解、脂质合成、磷酸戊糖途径、氨基酸代谢和氧化磷酸化等主要代谢途径密切相关,其代谢发生改变可能与肺脏衰老和多种呼吸系统疾病有关。该文对正常、衰老和疾病状态下的肺干/祖细胞的代谢调控进行了综述。     

Morphological and pharmacological basis for pulmonary ventilation in Amphiuma tridactylum

Summary The lung of the giant salamander, Amphiuma tridactylum, is divided into respiratory alveoli by muscular septa that increase the surface area of the lung as well as provide a mechanism for its almost complete collapse during exhalation. The epithelium of the internal surface is of two types: respiratory, composed of a single layer of pneumocytes overlying anastomosing capillaries, and non-respiratory, composed of ciliated cells and mucus-secreting goblet cells. Non-respiratory epithelium covers the apical edges of the septa, whereas the respiratory epithelium lines the alveoli. The smooth muscle of the septa and walls of the lung was studied in preparations of uninflated and acetylcholine-contracted lung. The muscle cells are ultrastructurally similar to other types of smooth muscle but are surrounded by extraordinary amounts of extracellular matrix, containing collagen and elastic fibers and numerous fine fibrils of unknown composition. Smooth muscle in isolated lung strips contracted in a dose-dependent manner when treated with acetylcholine or methacholine; contraction was blocked by atropine. Responses of lung strips to adrenergic agents were limited; only high doses of adrenalin caused slight relaxation of previously contracted muscle. These observations support the hypothesis that contraction of pulmonary smooth muscle is responsible for the ventilatory efficiency of the lung.     

Mesenchymal control of branching pattern in the fetal mouse lung

The effect of mesenchyme on specialization of respiratory epithelium in the fetal mouse was tested in organ cultures. Heterologous combinations were made between respiratory and non-respiratory lung epithelia and the corresponding mesenchymes. Isolated terminal respiratory buds of fetal mouse lungs were recombined with mesenchyme from chick lung parabronchi, mouse trachea or from the avascular, non-respiratory air sacs of chick lungs. Isolated non-branching chick air sacs were combined with mouse terminal bud mesenchyme or mesenchyme from the respiratory branches of chick lungs. Air sac epithelia branched in a pattern characteristic of the chick lung when combined with chick respiratory mesenchyme and in a pattern characteristic of mouse lung when combined with mouse terminal bud mesenchyme. Mouse terminal bud epithelia did not branch with either mouse tracheal mesenchyme or chick air sac mesenchyme but branched in a chick pattern with chick parabronchial mesenchyme. Electron microscopic examination of the cultures showed that all chick air sac epithelial cultures failed to produce surfactant (lamellar bodies) even when they branched. Control cultures of mouse terminal buds contained large numbers of lamellar bodies; mesenchyme which suppressed branching reduced the number of lamellar bodies to only a few in a small proportion of the cells. Culture medium supplemented with growth factors and hormones increased the number of lamellar bodies in heterologous mouse combinations but did not bring the number to control levels. Supplemented medium had no effect on lamellar body production by chick air sac epithelium. The results indicate that branching pattern is determined by the mesenchyme surrounding the epithelial primordium. However, the capacity to synthesize surfactant is determined by the source of the epithelium; mesenchyme may control the degree of expression but not the absolute presence or absence of the differentiated condition.     

Expression of Carcinoembryonic Cell Adhesion Molecule 6 and Alveolar Epithelial Cell Markers in Lungs of Human Infants with Chronic Lung Disease

The membrane protein carcinoembryonic antigen cell adhesion molecule (CEACAM6) is expressed in the epithelium of various tissues, participating in innate immune defense, cell proliferation and differentiation, with overexpression in gastrointestinal tract, pancreatic and lung tumors. It is developmentally and hormonally regulated in fetal human lung, with an apparent increased production in preterm infants with respiratory failure. To further examine the expression and cell localization of CEACAM6, we performed immunohistochemical and biochemical studies in lung specimens from infants with and without chronic lung disease. CEACAM6 protein and mRNA were increased ~4-fold in lungs from infants with chronic lung disease as compared with controls. By immunostaining, CEACAM6 expression was markedly increased in the lung parenchyma of infants and children with a variety of chronic lung disorders, localizing to hyperplastic epithelial cells with a ~7-fold elevated proliferative rate by PCNA staining. Some of these cells also co-expressed membrane markers of both type I and type II cells, which is not observed in normal postnatal lung, suggesting they are transitional epithelial cells. We suggest that CEACAM6 is both a marker of lung epithelial progenitor cells and a contributor to the proliferative response after injury due to its anti-apoptotic and cell adhesive properties.     

Topography of pleural epithelial structure enabled by en face isolation and machine learning

Pleural epithelial adaptations to mechanical stress are relevant to both normal lung function and parenchymal lung diseases. Assessing regional differences in mechanical stress, however, has been complicated by the nonlinear stress–strain properties of the lung and the large displacements with ventilation. Moreover, there is no reliable method of isolating pleural epithelium for structural studies. To define the topographic variation in pleural structure, we developed a method of en face harvest of murine pleural epithelium. Silver-stain was used to highlight cell borders and facilitate imaging with light microscopy. Machine learning and watershed segmentation were used to define the cell area and cell perimeter of the isolated pleural epithelial cells. In the deflated lung at residual volume, the pleural epithelial cells were significantly larger in the apex (624 ± 247 μm²) than in basilar regions of the lung (471 ± 119 μm²) (p < 0.001). The distortion of apical epithelial cells was consistent with a vertical gradient of pleural pressures. To assess epithelial changes with inflation, the pleura was studied at total lung capacity. The average epithelial cell area increased 57% and the average perimeter increased 27% between residual volume and total lung capacity. The increase in lung volume was less than half the percent change predicted by uniform or isotropic expansion of the lung. We conclude that the structured analysis of pleural epithelial cells complements studies of pulmonary microstructure and provides useful insights into the regional distribution of mechanical stresses in the lung.     

小鼠胎肺分支形态发生的分子机制

哺乳动物在早期胚胎发育过程中,肺发育经历了气管分支的形态发生、树样结构上皮管道的形成,并伴随着血管的发育而发生的气体通路和肺泡的分化等过程.肺发生涉及到许多复杂的分子机制.肺形态学的变化受到一系列持家基因、激素、核转录因子、生长因子及其他因素的综合调控.目前已经发现决定肺分支形态发生的许多重要因子.本文根据目前最新研究进展,阐述了小鼠胚胎肺在分支形态发生过程中,上皮与间充质之间诱导的信号通路之间的相互作用及其对呼吸树形态建成的调控机制.     

胎肺细胞肾包膜下种植模型--胎肺发育研究之新体内模型

肺是哺乳动物重要的呼吸器官,其发育的大部分过程发生于胚胎阶段,但由于研究手段的限制,对胎肺特别是后期胎肺发生机制的认识还十分有限.本文利用肾包膜下种植的方法建立了胎肺细胞肾包膜下种植模型.模型中上皮发育历经假腺体期、小管期和肺泡前体期等正常胎肺上皮组织发育的所有分化阶段,同时间充质形成广泛的毛细血管网络,与胎肺在子宫中的发育过程一致.更重要的是,消化处理后的单个胎肺细胞可有效地吸收反义寡核苷酸,并在种植组织中产生相应的表型效应.模型的建立为胎肺发生机制研究提供了一条新的途径.     

Generation of multipotent lung and airway progenitors from mouse ESCs and patient-specific cystic fibrosis iPSCs

Deriving lung progenitors from patient-specific pluripotent cells is a key step in producing differentiated lung epithelium for disease modeling and transplantation. By mimicking the signaling events that occur during mouse lung development, we generated murine lung progenitors in a series of discrete steps. Definitive endoderm derived from mouse embryonic stem cells (ESCs) was converted into foregut endoderm, then into replicating Nkx2.1+ lung endoderm, and finally into multipotent embryonic lung progenitor and airway progenitor cells. We demonstrated that precisely-timed BMP, FGF, and WNT signaling are required for NKX2.1 induction. Mouse ESC-derived Nkx2.1+ progenitor cells formed respiratory epithelium (tracheospheres) when transplanted subcutaneously into mice. We then adapted this strategy to produce disease-specific lung progenitor cells from human Cystic Fibrosis induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), creating a platform for dissecting human lung disease. These disease-specific human lung progenitors formed respiratory epithelium when subcutaneously engrafted into immunodeficient mice.     

Detection of a novel stem cell probably involved in normal turnover of the lung airway epithelium

Regeneration of the lung airway epithelium after injury has been extensively studied. In contrast, analysis of its turnover in healthy adulthood has received little attention. In the classical view, this epithelium is maintained in the steady‐state by the infrequent proliferation of basal or Clara cells. The intermediate filament protein nestin was initially identified as a marker for neural stem cells, but its expression has also been detected in other stem cells. Lungs from CD1 mice at the age of 2, 6, 12, 18 or 24 months were fixed in neutral‐buffered formalin and paraffin‐embedded. Nestin expression was examined by an immunohistochemical peroxidase‐based method. Nestin‐positive cells were detected in perivascular areas and in connective tissue that were in close proximity of the airway epithelium. Also, nestin‐positive cells were found among the cells lining the airway epithelium. These findings suggest that nestin‐positive stem cells circulate in the bloodstream, transmigrate through blood vessels and localize in the lung airway epithelium to participate in its turnover. We previously reported the existence of similar cells able to differentiate into lung chondrocytes. Thus, the stem cell reported here might be a bone marrow‐derived mesenchymal stem cell (BMDMSC) able to generate several types of lung tissues. In conclusion, our findings indicate that there exist a BMDMSC in healthy adulthood that participates in the turnover of the lung airway epithelium. These findings may improve our knowledge about the lung stem cell biology and also provide novel approaches to therapy for devastating pulmonary diseases.