An Introduction to Airway Cells Used in Research

Alveolar epithelial cells (AEC) line the small, spongy sacs called alveoli that are found throughout the lung. Alveolar epithelial eells I (AEC I) cover approximately 95% of the alveolar surface area, where they are involved in gas exchange with microvascular endothelial cells that surround the alveoli. Alveoli carry oxygen to the blood from the respiratory tract and take CO₂ away from the blood back out of the airway tract. AEC II contribute to lung defense and have been the subject of numerous studies due to their regenerative potential¹.

Pulmonary artery endothelial cells (PAEC) and pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (PASMC) are found at the pulmonary artery, which carries deoxygenated blood from the heart to the lungs. While the PAEC line the blood vessel, the PASMC layer beneath these. Both cell types have been implicated in chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH)⁴.

References

¹ Desai et al. (2014). Nature 507(7491):190-4

² Bärnthaler et al. (2017). Sci Rep 11;7(1):7923

³ Pascoe et al. (2012). J Allergy 2012:768982

⁴ Quarck et al. (2012). Respir Res 27;13:27

According to World Health Organization, 235 million people worldwide have asthma. The exact cause of asthma is not known but it is understood that a combination of genetic and environmental factors interact to cause asthma. Asthma is an inflammatory disorder of the airways which causes attacks of wheezing, shortness of breath, chest tightness, and coughing.

COPD will become the third leading cause of death worldwide according to the World Health Organization. COPD is not necessarily a single disease but an umbrella term that is used to describe chronic lung diseases (example: emphysema and chronic obstructive bronchitis) that cause long-term limitation in lung airflow. COPD is usually common in long-term smokers and is associated with a progressive decline in pulmonary function.

Asthma and COPD research is currently focused on:

• Understanding the causes that lead to asthma or COPD in different people
• Developing improved treatments for asthma or COPD
• For COPD specifically, understanding the effects of smoking and how it leads to COPD

Lonza offers lung epithelial, smooth muscle cells and fibroblasts from normal, asthmatic and COPD donors supported with the same growth and air-liquid interface media. Detailed donor history is provided upon request for diseased cells including cause of death, list of medications and other details. Contact our scientific support team for additional details.

Download relevant white papers showing the use of Lonza’s Asthma and COPD cells:

Related Products

• Human primary cells from donors diagnosed with Asthma
• Human primary cells from donors diagnosed with COPD

Selected Published References with Lonza’s Normal and Diseased Cells

• “Directional Secretory Response of Double Stranded RNA-Induced Thymic Stromal Lymphopoetin (TSLP) and CCL11/Eotaxin-1 in Human Asthmatic Airways”. Gustavo Nino et al. examined the effects of TSLP (Thymic stromal lymphopoetin) at both sides (apical/basal) of the human epithelial barrier using a multi-scale approach that included an in vitro model of polarized, primary differentiated HBEC at air-liquid interface (ALI), human airway smooth muscle cells (HASMC) and clinical experiments in nasal airway secretions obtained during naturally occurring rhinovirus-induced asthma exacerbations.
• Our primary normal human bronchial smooth muscle cells (BSMC) were used by Calven, et al. to understand how human rhinoviruses cause exacerbations and development of severe asthma. BSMC were grown in culture and infected with rhinovirus 1B, following which cell supernatants were analyzed by ELISA for cytokine release and by Western blot for receptor expression. 

Research into Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) is a rapidly growing field with recent studies improving our understanding of the condition, enabling doctors to more easily make a diagnosis. However, a considerable amount of research is still needed if a cure is to be found, as the pathways of disease progression are not yet understood, with the rate of progression varying from person to person. IPF is characterized by scarring of the lung tissue causing a progressive reduction in lung function. While there are a number of treatments available to reduce the rate of progression of IPF, there is currently no treatment that can stop or reverse the scarring of the lungs. Both genetic and environmental factors are attributed to the development of the disease.

Lonza now offers cryopreserved lung fibroblasts from donors diagnosed with Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) for use in research into this potentially fatal condition.

Related Products

• Diseased lung fibroblasts, from donors diagnosed with Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF)
• Normal lung fibroblasts (available from both donors characterized as smokers or non-smokers)
• FGM^TM-2 BulletKit^TM Medium

Select References where Lonza's Normal Human Lung Fibroblasts are used for IPF Research

• Lung Epithelium Overexpressed Noncoding RNA (LEON): Role of a Novel Long Intergenic Noncoding RNA in Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis
• The IL-33/ST2 Axis Is Upregulated in Fibrotic Lung Disease
• Extracellular Matrix Metalloproteinase Inducer (EMMPRIN) promotes lung fibroblast proliferation, survival and differentiation to myofibroblasts

Related Products

• Human primary cells from donors diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis

References

¹ National Human Genome Research Institute

Lung cancer is one of the most common causes of cancer death, with 1.69 million deaths worldwide in 2015. Like all cancers the disease is highly complex yet lung cancer can be broadly classified into two types, non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and small cell lung cancer (SCLC). Of these, NSCLC is much more prevalent. Approximately 80-85% of the people suffer from non-small cell lung cancer. Small cell lung cancer makes up 10-15% of the population.

Lung cancer research is currently focused on:

• Prevention and screening for early detection
• Identification of new biomarkers and the development of targeted therapies
• The development of next-generation chemotherapeutic agents
• Effect of smoking on lung cancer development

Lonza’s normal bronchial epithelial cells are routinely used as controls to support lung cancer research. We offer cells from both smokers and non-smokers to allow researchers to understand the implications of smoking on lung cancer development. Our BEGM^TM BulletKit^TM Medium is supported by various publications to successfully culture well-established lung epithelial cell lines such as BEAS-2B.

Related Products

• Normal Airway Cells
• Growth and Differentiation Media

Select References with Lonza’s cells and media supporting lung cancer research

• "Repetitive Nicotine Exposure Leads to a More Malignant and Metastasis-Prone Phenotype of SCLC: A Molecular Insight into the Importance of Quitting Smoking during Treatment". Garcia el al.  studied the effect of cigarette smoking and its correlation with the onset of lung cancer in Lonza's lymphatic endothelial cells. Nicotine has been found to promote tumor growth and angiogenesis, as well as protect cancer cells from apoptosis. 
• "Impact of DNA demethylation of the G0S2 gene on the transcription of G0S2 in squamous lung cancer cell lines with or without nuclear receptor agonists". Kusakabe et. al. identified that DNA methylation of the G0S2 gene was significantly more frequent in squamous lung cancer than in non-squamous lung cancer.
• El Najjar, et al. (2015). PLOSONE 10(2) (link to) demonstrates culturing of BEAS-2B bronchial epithelial cell line in BEGM^TM Media to examine the effects of cathepsin and furin proteolytic enzymes on viral fusion protein activation in cells

Several interstitial lung disorders such as Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) and Pulmonary Histiocytosis X are attributed to long-term smoking. In order to support research in such areas, Lonza sources cells from donors that are either smokers or non-smokers. The comparative studies between these donors allows researchers to understand implications of smoking on certain cell types.

We have recently launched lung fibroblasts isolated from donors diagnosed with Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF). To request additional cell types from other disease areas, contact cellsondemand@lonza.com to get information.

Related Products

• Normal Airway Cells
• Growth and Differentiation Media

Select References with Lonza’s cells where donors are characterized as smokers or non-smokers

•  "Role of aberrant metalloproteinase activity in the pro-inflammatory phenotype of bronchial epithelium in COPD". Heijink et al. studied the effect of cigarette smoking and its correlation with development of COPD.
• "Repetitive Nicotine Exposure Leads to a More Malignant and Metastasis-Prone Phenotype of SCLC: A Molecular Insight into the Importance of Quitting Smoking during Treatment". Garcia el al.(link to)studied the effect of cigarette smoking and its correlation with the onset of lung cancer with Lonza's lymphatic endothelial cells. Nicotine has been found to promote tumor growth and angiogenesis, as well as protect cancer cells from apoptosis.

Lonza offers a comprehensive range of normal human primary airway cells with broad donor variety for bronchial epithelial cells, bronchial smooth muscle cells, lung fibroblasts, pulmonary artery endothelial cells, pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells, small-airway/alveolar epithelial cells and lung microvascular endothelial cells.

Select cell types are complemented with diseased cells isolated from donors diagnosed with asthma, COPD, Cystic Fibrosis or Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF). For diseased cells, detailed donor information including list of medications, cause of death and more can be requested by contacting our Scientific Support Team.

Find the complete range of our airway cells and media listed here: