In an illuminating study, researchers have found that immune cells play an active role in directing the growth of human lung tissue during development.
Researchers from the Wellcome Sanger Institute, University College London (UCL) and EMBL’s European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI) used advanced single-cell technologies augmented with additional modalities to map the development of early human lung immune cells over time. The research offers new insights for understanding and treating respiratory conditions, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Respiratory conditions account for almost 20 percent of all deaths in children under five years worldwide.
The study, published in Science Immunology, reveals a surprising coordination between the immune and respiratory systems, much earlier in development than previously thought. This discovery raises questions about the potential role of immune cells in other developing organs across the body.
“This work is the Stage II of our sky-diving approach in building a human developing lung cell atlas, focusing on one compartment after our former global reference. We were fortunate to unlock more secrets of the maturing respiratory system. It’s exciting to see that the early immune system talks to the epithelium and influences its differentiation.” said Peng He, Postdoctoral Fellow at EMBL-EBI and the Wellcome Sanger Institute, co-first author of the study.
“These detailed insights open the door to potential regenerative therapies in not only the lung, but in other vital human organs.” Jo Barnes Senior Postdoctoral Research Fellow at UCL Division of Medicine, co-first author of the study.
This study has created a first-of-its-kind immune cell atlas of the developing lung. It is part of the international Human Cell Atlas initiative, which is mapping every cell type in the human body, to transform our understanding of health, infection and disease.
Immune cells make up a substantial portion of the airways and mature lungs, which have critical gas exchange and barrier functions, providing protection against infection of the respiratory tract. However, the roles of immune cells in the developing organ have remained unexplored compared to structural or lining cell types. Recent discoveries confirm the presence of immune cells in human lungs as early as five weeks into development.
“We now know immune-epithelial crosstalk is a feature of early lung development,” said Marko Nikolić, Principal Research Fellow at UCL Division of Medicine and honorary consultant in respiratory medicine. “This vital baseline of healthy lung development will help us understand what happens when lung developmental processes get disrupted, for example in preterm births, which can lead to respiratory deficiencies.”
The findings of this study fundamentally change our understanding of the immune and epithelial interactions that are crucial for foetal lung maturation. They also suggest that early immune disturbances could manifest as paediatric lung disease.
These new insights into mechanisms in early lung formation will also contribute to the development of new therapeutic approaches for regenerating damaged lung tissue and restoring lung function.
“If we are to fully understand the root causes of disease, we require a complete view of cells at all stages in the human body,” said Sarah Teichmann, Head of Cellular Genetics and Senior Group Leader at Wellcome Sanger Institute and co-founder of the Human Cell Atlas. “This important contribution towards a comprehensive Human Cell Atlas will be a valuable reference for studying lung diseases.”
A longer version of this press release was originally published on the Wellcome Sanger Institute website.
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