Bone marrow-derived progenitor cells are important for lung repair after lipopolysaccharide-induced lung injury

Tissue repair often occurs in organs damaged by an inflammatory response. Inflammatory stimuli induce a rapid and massive release of inflammatory cells including neutrophils from the bone marrow. Recently, many studies suggested that bone marrow cells have the potential to differentiate into a variety of cell types. However, whether inflammatory stimuli induce release of bone marrow-derived progenitor cells (BMPCs), or how much impact the suppression of BMPCs has on the injured organ is not clear. Here we show that LPS, a component of Gram-negative bacterial cell walls, in the lung airways, induces a rapid mobilization of BMPCs into the circulation in mice. BMPCs accumulate within the inflammatory site and differentiate to become endothelial and epithelial cells. Moreover, the suppression of BMPCs by sublethal irradiation before intrapulmonary LPS leads to disruption of tissue structure and emphysema-like changes. Reconstitution of the bone marrow prevents these changes. These data suggest that BMPCs are important and required for lung repair after LPS-induced lung injury.