3D Cell Culture

Ella Stasko

Last edited: 06.26.2024

This project aims to further understand idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). IPF is a progressive and irreversible disease characterized by scarring of the lungs due to aberrant fibrogenesis. Accumulation of fibrotic tissue increases lung stiffness and inevitable poor prognosis. In this state, alveolar type 1 cells (AT1s) the cells which perform gas exchange, are damaged by abrasive forces. Under normal conditions alveolar type 2 cells (AT2s) will differentiate and replace damaged AT1s but in IPF, AT2s are stalled in a transition state and do not fully differentiate. These malfunctioning AT1s and AT2s promote disease progression through inadequate repair which enables increased human lung fibroblast (HLF) proliferation and activation, leading to fibrogenesis and scarring. Further, HLF proliferation and activation creates negative feedback effects on AT2 to AT1 differentiation contributing to a vicious cycle of fibrogenesis.  

Bennett and Aidan are working to examine iPSC derived AT2 cells (iAT2) in 3D hydrogels constructed from different extracellular matrix (ECM) conditions using decellularized ECM (dECM) made in house, as they try to understand whether ECM composition impacts AT2 differentiation.