Mini-Review
Stem Cells in Lung Injury and Repair

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajpath.2016.05.023Get rights and content
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In this review, we summarize the recent literature on the biology of endogenous stem cells in adult lung injury repair. We focus on in vivo studies in mice with an emphasis on data generated using cell-specific Cre-dependent lineage-tracing systems. These studies provide new information on the identification of lung stem cells, their hierarchical relationships, the plasticity of their behavior in different types of injury, and the molecular signals that control their fates. Although most of this work has been on epithelial hierarchies, we expect that further development of robust genetic tools will foster meaningful investigations into how nonepithelial cell populations are controlled during lung injury repair in adults. The ultimate challenge will be to translate these findings to the pathogenesis and treatment of human lung diseases.

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Lung Ontogeny and Injury Theme Issue

Supported by NIH National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute grants R01 HL116163 (A.F.) and R01 HL130287 (F.C. and A.F.).

This article is part of a review series on lung ontogeny and injury.

Disclosures: None declared.