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Postnatal Alveologenesis Depends on FOXF1 Signaling in c-KIT⁺ Endothelial Progenitor Cells.

ABSTRACT: Rationale: Disruption of alveologenesis is associated with severe pediatric lung disorders, including bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD). Although c-KIT⁺ endothelial cell (EC) progenitors are abundant in embryonic and neonatal lungs, their role in alveolar septation and the therapeutic potential of these cells remain unknown.Objectives: To determine whether c-KIT⁺ EC progenitors stimulate alveologenesis in the neonatal lung.Methods: We used single-cell RNA sequencing of neonatal human and mouse lung tissues, immunostaining, and FACS analysis to identify transcriptional and signaling networks shared by human and mouse pulmonary c-KIT⁺ EC progenitors. A mouse model of perinatal hyperoxia-induced lung injury was used to identify molecular mechanisms that are critical for the survival, proliferation, and engraftment of c-KIT⁺ EC progenitors in the neonatal lung.Measurements and Main Results: Pulmonary c-KIT⁺ EC progenitors expressing PECAM-1, CD34, VE-Cadherin, FLK1, and TIE2 lacked mature arterial, venal, and lymphatic cell-surface markers. The transcriptomic signature of c-KIT⁺ ECs was conserved in mouse and human lungs and enriched in FOXF1-regulated transcriptional targets. Expression of FOXF1 and c-KIT was decreased in the lungs of infants with BPD. In the mouse, neonatal hyperoxia decreased the number of c-KIT⁺ EC progenitors. Haploinsufficiency or endothelial-specific deletion of Foxf1 in mice increased apoptosis and decreased proliferation of c-KIT⁺ ECs. Inactivation of either Foxf1 or c-Kit caused alveolar simplification. Adoptive transfer of c-KIT⁺ ECs into the neonatal circulation increased lung angiogenesis and prevented alveolar simplification in neonatal mice exposed to hyperoxia.Conclusions: Cell therapy involving c-KIT⁺ EC progenitors can be beneficial for the treatment of BPD.

SUBMITTER: Ren X

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6888649 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:RationaleInactivating mutations in the Forkhead Box transcription factor F1 (FOXF1) gene locus are frequently found in patients with alveolar capillary dysplasia with misalignment of pulmonary veins, a lethal congenital disorder, which is characterized by severe abnormalities in the respiratory, cardiovascular, and gastrointestinal systems. In mice, haploinsufficiency of the Foxf1 gene causes alveolar capillary dysplasia and developmental defects in lung, intestinal, and gall bladder morphogenesis.ObjectiveAlthough FOXF1 is expressed in multiple mesenchyme-derived cell types, cellular origins and molecular mechanisms of developmental abnormalities in FOXF1-deficient mice and patients with alveolar capillary dysplasia with misalignment of pulmonary veins remain uncharacterized because of lack of mouse models with cell-restricted inactivation of the Foxf1 gene. In the present study, the role of FOXF1 in endothelial cells was examined using a conditional knockout approach.Methods and resultsA novel mouse line harboring Foxf1-floxed alleles was generated by homologous recombination. Tie2-Cre and Pdgfb-CreER transgenes were used to delete Foxf1 from endothelial cells. FOXF1-deficient embryos exhibited embryonic lethality, growth retardation, polyhydramnios, cardiac ventricular hypoplasia, and vascular abnormalities in the lung, placenta, yolk sac, and retina. Deletion of FOXF1 from endothelial cells reduced endothelial proliferation, increased apoptosis, inhibited vascular endothelial growth factor signaling, and decreased expression of endothelial genes critical for vascular development, including vascular endothelial growth factor receptors Flt1 and Flk1, Pdgfb, Pecam1, CD34, integrin β3, ephrin B2, Tie2, and the noncoding RNA Fendrr. Chromatin immunoprecipitation assay demonstrated that Flt1, Flk1, Pdgfb, Pecam1, and Tie2 genes are direct transcriptional targets of FOXF1.ConclusionsFOXF1 is required for the formation of embryonic vasculature by regulating endothelial genes critical for vascular development and vascular endothelial growth factor signaling.

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Postnatal Alveologenesis Depends on FOXF1 Signaling in c-KIT⁺ Endothelial Progenitor Cells.

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Postnatal Alveologenesis Depends on FOXF1 Signaling in c-KIT+ Endothelial Progenitor Cells.

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Postnatal Alveologenesis Depends on FOXF1 Signaling in c-KIT⁺ Endothelial Progenitor Cells.