Isolation and culture of mouse alveolar type II cells to study type II to type I cell differentiation

Abstract

Summary: Alveolar type II cells (AT2) are stem cells of lung epithelium. To study these cells, we developed protocols to isolate primary AT2 and test the effects of potential niche factors in regulating the AT2 progenitor functions. AT2 freshly isolated from mouse lungs are grown in 2D or 3D culture. AT2 are able to differentiate into alveolar type I cells (AT1) in these conditions. S1P or an inhibitor of S1P signaling is added in culture to modulate AT2 to AT1 transition.For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Chen et al. (2020).

Keywords

• Cell culture
• Cell isolation
• Cell-based Assays
• Model Organisms
• Stem Cells
• Cell Differentiation