Lineage Tracing of Distal Lung Epithelial Progenitors in Injury-Induced Regeneration

Lineage tracing is an emerging technology with the outstanding advantage of labeling stem cells and their descendants with temporal and spatial specificity in vivo. We aimed to systematically review the research advances of distal lung epithelial progenitors via lineage tracing strategies.

The distal lung, including bronchioles and alveoli, carries the respiratory function and is the central region involved in acute respiratory distress syndrome and other diseases. Many endogenous epithelial stem cell/progenitor lineages such as Club cells, alveolar type II cells, bronchioalveolar stem cells, and basal-like progenitors that contribute to distal lung regeneration have been identified and are engaged in repairing lung injury for various reasons. Advances in lineage tracing technology have provided tremendous support in characterizing progenitor lineages, identifying new progenitor cell lineages, and discovering regulators of their behaviors.

The important role of distal lung epithelial progenitors and lineage tracing methods has been highlighted in recent years. Relevant studies provide a perspective for further deepening lineage tracing in lung progenitor research and laying the groundwork for endogenous stem cell therapies in the future.