Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a devastating lung disease with poor prognosis and limited therapeutic options. The incidence of IPF increases with age, and ageing-related mechanisms such as cellular senescence have been proposed as pathogenic drivers. The lung alveolar epithelium represents a major site of tissue injury in IPF and senescence of this cell population is probably detriment...

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is characterised by repeated injury to the alveolar epithelium with loss of lung epithelial cells and abnormal tissue repair, resulting in excessive accumulation of fibroblasts and myofibroblasts, deposition of extracellular matrix components and distortion of lung architecture, eventually leading to respiratory failure. There is growing circumstantial eviden...

Deformation of the alveolar epithelial basement membrane with lung inflation has been implicated in blood-gas barrier breakdown during the development of ventilator-induced lung injury. To determine the vulnerability of alveolar epithelial cells to deformation-induced injury, we developed a cell-stretching device that subjects cells to cyclic, equibiaxial strains. Alveolar epithelial type II ce...

Exposure to bleomycin in rodents induces lung injury and fibrosis. Alveolar epithelial cell death has been hypothesized as an initiating mechanism underlying bleomycin-induced lung injury and fibrosis. In the present study we evaluated the contribution of mitochondrial and receptor-meditated death pathways in bleomycin-induced death of mouse alveolar epithelial cells (MLE-12 cells) and primary ...

The differentiation of alveolar epithelial type I (AT1) and type II (AT2) cells is essential for the lung gas exchange function. Disruption of this process results in neonatal death or in severe lung diseases that last into adulthood. We developed live imaging techniques to characterize the mechanisms that control alveolar epithelial cell differentiation. We discovered that mechanical forces ge...

Viruses that infect the lung are a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in animals and humans worldwide. Coronaviruses are being associated increasingly with severe diseases in the lower respiratory tract. Alveolar epithelial cells are an important target for coronavirus infection in the lung, and infected cells can initiate innate immune responses to viral infection. In this overview, ...

The ability to manipulate the size and surface properties of nanomaterials makes them a promising vector for improving drug delivery and efficacy. Inhalation is a desirable route of administration as nanomaterials preferentially deposit in the alveolar region, a large surface area for drug absorption. However, as yet, the mechanisms by which particles translocate across the alveolar epithelial ...

Abnormal enlargement of the alveolar spaces is a hallmark of conditions such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and bronchopulmonary dysplasia. Notch signaling is crucial for differentiation and regeneration and repair of the airway epithelium. However, how Notch influences the alveolar compartment and integrates this process with airway development remains little understood. Here we repo...