c-kit+ cells adopt vascular endothelial but not epithelial cell fates during lung maintenance and repair

Q Liu, X Huang, H Zhang, X Tian, L He, R Yang… - Nature medicine, 2015 - nature.com
Q Liu, X Huang, H Zhang, X Tian, L He, R Yang, Y Yan, QD Wang, A Gillich, B Zhou
Nature medicine, 2015nature.com
Unraveling the fate specification of resident stem cells during lung regeneration is of clinical
importance. It has been reported that c-kit+ progenitor cells resident in the human lung
regenerate epithelial lineages upon transplantation into injured mouse lung. Here we test
the lineage potential of c-kit+ cells by inducible genetic lineage tracing. We find that c-kit+
cells do not contribute to lung epithelium during homeostasis and repair, and instead
maintain a vascular endothelial cell fate. These findings call attention to the clinical …
Abstract
Unraveling the fate specification of resident stem cells during lung regeneration is of clinical importance. It has been reported that c-kit+ progenitor cells resident in the human lung regenerate epithelial lineages upon transplantation into injured mouse lung. Here we test the lineage potential of c-kit+ cells by inducible genetic lineage tracing. We find that c-kit+ cells do not contribute to lung epithelium during homeostasis and repair, and instead maintain a vascular endothelial cell fate. These findings call attention to the clinical application of c-kit+ stem cells as lung epithelial progenitors for the treatment of pulmonary disease.
nature.com