Airway Epithelial Cell Differentiation and Injury in Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia
Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is a chronic lung disease of extremely premature infants. Airway injury, remodeling and obstruction contribute to BPD pathogenesis. Modeling airway epithelial differentiation is important as samples from critically ill infants are difficult to obtain, and airway disease remains an understudied yet physiologically relevant element therein.
In this project we are using a combination of in vivo and ex vivo approaches:
- Investigating molecular pathways differentially expressed by tracheal epithelial cells from infants with evolving BPD
- Characterizing the ex vivo growth and differentiation properties of BPD airway epithelia using an organotypic AEC culture model
- Studying the impact of hyperoxia-induced airway epithelial injury ex vivo
- Describing airway epithelial structure in pathologic specimens from patients who died with evolving severe BPD (collaboration with Deutsch Lab)