生物谷报道：2007年3月5日，布朗基金会人类疾病预防分子医学研究所(IMM) --休斯敦德州大学健康科学中心的一部分--的分子科学家发现了一种分化人类胚胎干细胞的新方法，以这种方法他们制出了可移植的肺上皮细胞源。这项试验在IMM分子医学教授Rick A. Wetsel博士的实验室中进行，其结果发表在《the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS)》杂志上。文章的主要作者，科学家王大春（Dachun Wang）博士说, “我们由人类胚胎干细胞得到了一些纯的II型肺泡上皮细胞。”“我们发现了一种借助遗传选择的可靠的分子方法，它可以促进人类胚胎干细胞分化成肺上皮细胞。” Wetsel说，同时指出这个方法也可以用来培育其它类型的高分化细胞。
IMM的科学家以这种方法在体外制出了肺上皮细胞（又名II型肺泡上皮细胞）。这些细胞源自于美国国立卫生研究院(NIH)批准的人类胚胎干细胞系。这种方法用细胞特异性启动子控制的蛋白标志物使未分化的人类胚胎干细胞转化成高分化细胞。这种人类胚胎干细胞在特定包覆的培养皿中培养并以药物筛选基因的肺上皮基因调控子转染。这是一种可以将人类胚胎干细胞培育成特定细胞的普遍技术，它将有助于开发出一个平台，这个平台将有助于培育脊髓细胞、心脏细胞、神经细胞及其他细胞。
II型肺泡上皮细胞以其众多的功能和用途而被称为肺干细胞，它们可以合成许多蛋白质，包括使肺膨胀的表面活性剂。它可使其他细胞排列在肺的内部，它们调节肺内流体和氧气水平，这些细胞是小肺部泡囊的一部分，小肺部泡囊（又称肺泡）排列在下呼吸道内。这层薄组织将氧气转送入血，并将二氧化碳转送出去。可移植II型肺泡上皮细胞可用于探索治疗肺基因病、肺获得性疾病、由车祸、中枪引起的肺损伤及运动引起的创伤。这些细胞有用于再生性肺修复的潜能。
原文出处：
PNAS
Dachun Wang, David L. Haviland, Alan R. Burns, Eva Zsigmond, and Rick A. Wetsel
A pure population of lung alveolar epithelial type II cells derived from human embryonic stem cells
PNAS published March 2, 2007, 10.1073/pnas.0700052104
Abstract PDF
作者简介
Rick A. Wetsel, Ph.D.
1982, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio
UT-Houston Institute of Molecular Medicine
Center for Immunology and Autoimmune Diseases
Biographical Sketch
Research Interests: Complement; inflammation; seven-transmembrane G protein-coupled proinflammatory receptors; chemokines; transgenic/knockout murine models; molecular genetics of inherited immunodeficiencies
The research in my laboratory is directed at delineating molecular mechanisms that mediate the inflammatory response as well as those that cause immune-dysfunction. Presently, our studies involve four areas of investigation; 1) receptor-mediated chemotaxis and adhesion of inflammatory cells; 2) molecular regulation of the inflammatory response; 3) molecular genetic basis of immune deficiencies; and 4) development and study of murine models of human autoimmune diseases. Many of these investigations involve studies of the complement system.
A tutorial in my laboratory would provide experience in molecular research in immunology and inflammation using modern techniques of molecular biology, cell biology, protein chemistry, and transgenic/knockout technology.
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Wetsel RA (1995) Structure, function, and cellular expression of the complement anaphylatoxin receptors. Curr Opin Immunol 7:48-53.
Wetsel RA, Kulics J, Lokki M-J, Kiepiela P, Akama H, Johnson CAC, Denson P, Colten HR (1996) Type II human complement C2 deficiency: Allele-specific amino acid substitutions (Ser 189 to Phe; Gly444 to Arg) cause impaired C2 secretion. J Biol Chem 271: 5824-5831.
Haviland DL, McCoy Rl, Whitehead WT, Akama H, Molmenti EP, Brown A, Parks WC, Perlmutter DH, Wetsel RA (1995) Cellular expression of the C5a anaphylatoxin receptor (C5aR): Demonstration of C5aR on nonmyeloid cells of the liver and lung. J Immunol 154:1861-1869.
Program Affiliations:
Program in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Program in Immunology
