Pulmonary epithelial stem cells
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Updated: Aug 27, 2026

Generation of Airway Epithelial Cell Air-Liquid Interface Cultures from Human Pluripotent Stem Cells
Published on: June 14, 2022
1Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine Centre, Faculty of Medicine Imperial College, London, UK. a.e.bishop@imperial.ac.uk
Abstract:
Classically, the stem/progenitor cells of the pulmonary epithelium are considered to be the basal and mucous cells of the proximal airways, Clara cells in the bronchioles and type II pneumocytes in the alveoli. Recent data suggest that there is a variant of Clara cells, lying in pulmonary neuroendocrine bodies, that meets several stem cell criteria and that type II pneumocytes exist in at least two populations, one of which is more resistant to injury. However, a complete revision of our understanding of pulmonary stem cell biology is underway as a result of the discovery of pulmonary epithelium derived from blood-borne cells. In addition, the existence in the lung of a 'universal' pluripotent cell has long been speculated upon and now some initial evidence has emerged with the identification of a spore-like cell that can differentiate in vitro to bronchiolar tissue.
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