Patient-Specific Airway Basal Cells Reproduced in Vitro

Researchers have successfully created airway basal stem cells in vitro from induced pluripotent stem cells by reprogramming blood cells taken from patients. The collaborative study was led by researchers at the Center for Regenerative Medicine at Boston Medical Center and Boston University and The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. Their results were published in Cell Stem Cell. 

The novel study outlines how to efficiently generate and purify large quantities of airway basal stem cells using patient samples. This allows for the development of individual, disease-specific airway basal stem cells in a lab that can be used to develop disease models, which may ultimately lead to drug development and a platform in which targeted drug approaches can be tested

"Simply put, we have developed a way to reproduce patient-specific airway basal cells in the lab, with the ultimate goal of being able to regenerate the airway for patients with airway diseases," said Finn Hawkins, principal investigator. 

The researchers first engineered induced pluripotent stem cells with a genetic sequence encoding a fluorescent protein that would allow them to visualize, track, and purify basal cells if present. Then, the researchers turned to studies of the embryo and prior work in this field to determine how basal form as the lungs develop. By manipulating induced pluripotent stem cells with a series of steps aimed to simulate what happens during lung development, the researchers successfully generated cells that were highly similar to human airway basal cells in terms of their appearance, the genes they expressed, and most importantly, their ability to both proliferate and form the other cell types of the airway. The cells, termed ibasal cells, were able to regenerate an airway in vivo using a rodent trachea model.

"We demonstrated the potential of these ibasal cells to model both human development and disease, providing evidence of their capacity to regenerate airway epithelium," said Hawkins. "We expect this will be a significant breakthrough and will contribute to new insights and treatment options for airway diseases, as our results have overcome several important hurdles currently limiting progress in the field."