Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 6, 2025
Isolation and In Vitro Culture of Murine and Human Alveolar Macrophages
Published on: April 20, 2018
Alveolar macrophage-expressed Plet1 is a driver of lung epithelial repair after viral pneumonia
Learta Pervizaj-Oruqaj1,2,3, Balachandar Selvakumar1,4,5, Maximiliano Ruben Ferrero1,2,3,4,5
1Department of Internal Medicine V, Universities of Giessen and Marburg Lung Center, University Hospital Giessen, Justus Liebig University, Member of the German Center for Lung Research (DZL), Giessen, Germany.
Abstract:
Influenza A virus (IAV) infection mobilizes bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDM) that gradually undergo transition to tissue-resident alveolar macrophages (TR-AM) in the inflamed lung. Combining high-dimensional single-cell transcriptomics with complex lung organoid modeling, in vivo adoptive cell transfer, and BMDM-specific gene targeting, we found that transitioning ("regenerative") BMDM and TR-AM highly express Placenta-expressed transcript 1 (Plet1). We reveal that Plet1 is released from alveolar macrophages, and acts as important mediator of macrophage-epithelial cross-talk during lung repair by inducing proliferation of alveolar epithelial cells and re-sealing of the epithelial barrier. Intratracheal administration of recombinant Plet1 early in the disease course attenuated viral lung injury and rescued mice from otherwise fatal disease, highlighting its therapeutic potential.
