The bone marrow of mouse-rat chimeras contains progenitors of multiple pulmonary cell lineages

Radiation-induced lung injury (RILI) is a common complication of anti-cancer treatments for thoracic and hematologic malignancies. Bone marrow (BM) transplantation restores hematopoietic cell lineages in cancer patients. However, it is ineffective in improving lung repair after RILI due to the paucity of respiratory progenitors in BM transplants. In the present study, we used blastocyst injection to create mouse-rat chimeras, these are artificial animals in which BM is enriched with mouse-derived progenitor cells. FACS-sorted mouse BM cells from mouse-rat chimeras were transplanted into lethally irradiated syngeneic mice, and the contribution of donor cells to the lung tissue was examined using immunostaining and flow cytometry. Donor BM cells provided long-term contributions to all lung-resident hematopoietic cells which includes alveolar macrophages and dendritic cells. Surprisingly, donor BM cells also contributed up to 8% in pulmonary endothelial cells and stromal cells after RILI. To identify respiratory progenitors in donor BM, we performed single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNAseq). Compared to normal mouse BM, increased numbers of hematopoietic progenitors were found in the BM of mouse-rat chimeras. We also identified unique populations of hemangioblast-like progenitor cells expressing Hes1, Dntt and Ebf1, along with mesenchymal stromal cells expressing Cpox, Blvrb and Ermap that were absent or ultra-rare in the normal mouse BM. In summary, by using rats as "bioreactors", we created a unique mouse BM cell transplant that contributes to multiple respiratory cell types after RILI. Interspecies chimeras have promise for future generations of BM transplants enriched in respiratory progenitor cells.

CRISPR/Cas9 Genome Editing Allows Generation of the Mouse Lung in a Rat

RATIONALE

Recent efforts in bioengineering and embryonic stem cell (ESC) technology allowed the generation of ESC-derived mouse lung tissues in transgenic mice missing critical morphogenetic genes. While epithelial cell lineages were efficiently generated from ESC, other cell types were mosaic. A complete contribution of donor ESC to lung tissue has never been achieved. The mouse lung has never been generated in a rat.

OBJECTIVE

To generate the mouse lung in a rat.

METHODS

CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing was used to disrupt the Nkx2-1 gene in rat 1-cell zygotes. Interspecies mouse-rat chimeras were produced by injection of wild-type mouse ESC into Nkx2-1-deficient rat embryos with lung agenesis. The contribution of mouse ESC to the lung tissue was examined by immunostaining, flow cytometry and single-cell RNA sequencing.

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS

Peripheral pulmonary and thyroid tissues were absent in rat embryos after CRISPR/Cas9-mediated disruption of the Nkx2-1 gene. Complementation of rat Nkx2-1-/- blastocysts with mouse ESC restored pulmonary and thyroid structures in mouse-rat chimeras leading to a near 99% contribution of ESC to all respiratory cell lineages. Epithelial, endothelial, hematopoietic, and stromal cells in ESC-derived lungs were highly differentiated and exhibited lineage-specific gene signatures similar to respiratory cells from the normal mouse lung. Analysis of receptor-ligand interactions revealed normal signaling networks between mouse ESC-derived respiratory cells differentiated in a rat.

CONCLUSIONS

A combination of CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing and blastocyst complementation was used to produce mouse lungs in rats, making an important step toward future generations of human lungs using large animals as "bioreactors".

Novel FOXF1-Stabilizing Compound TanFe Stimulates Lung Angiogenesis in Alveolar Capillary Dysplasia

Rationale: Alveolar capillary dysplasia with misalignment of pulmonary veins (ACDMPV) is linked to heterozygous mutations in the FOXF1 (Forkhead Box F1) gene, a key transcriptional regulator of pulmonary vascular development. There are no effective treatments for ACDMPV other than lung transplant, and new pharmacological agents activating FOXF1 signaling are urgently needed. Objectives: Identify-small molecule compounds that stimulate FOXF1 signaling. Methods: We used mass spectrometry, immunoprecipitation, and the in vitro ubiquitination assay to identify TanFe (transcellular activator of nuclear FOXF1 expression), a small-molecule compound from the nitrile group, which stabilizes the FOXF1 protein in the cell. The efficacy of TanFe was tested in mouse models of ACDMPV and acute lung injury and in human vascular organoids derived from induced pluripotent stem cells of a patient with ACDMPV. Measurements and Main Results: We identified HECTD1 as an E3 ubiquitin ligase involved in ubiquitination and degradation of the FOXF1 protein. The TanFe compound disrupted FOXF1-HECTD1 protein-protein interactions and decreased ubiquitination of the FOXF1 protein in pulmonary endothelial cells in vitro. TanFe increased protein concentrations of FOXF1 and its target genes Flk1, Flt1, and Cdh5 in LPS-injured mouse lungs, decreasing endothelial permeability and inhibiting lung inflammation. Treatment of pregnant mice with TanFe increased FOXF1 protein concentrations in lungs of Foxf1+/- embryos, stimulated neonatal lung angiogenesis, and completely prevented the mortality of Foxf1+/- mice after birth. TanFe increased angiogenesis in human vascular organoids derived from induced pluripotent stem cells of a patient with ACDMPV with FOXF1 deletion. Conclusions: TanFe is a novel activator of FOXF1, providing a new therapeutic candidate for treatment of ACDMPV and other neonatal pulmonary vascular diseases.

FOXF1 Regulates Alveolar Epithelial Morphogenesis through Transcriptional Activation of Mesenchymal WNT5A

Mutations in the FOXF1 (forkhead box F1) gene, encoding the mesenchymal FOX (forkhead box) transcription factor, are linked to alveolar capillary dysplasia with misalignment of pulmonary veins (ACDMPV), a severe congenital disorder associated with the loss of alveolar capillaries and lung hypoplasia. Although proangiogenic functions of FOXF1 have been extensively studied, the role of FOXF1 in mesenchymal-epithelial signaling during lung development remains uncharacterized. Herein, we used murine lung organoids to demonstrate that the S52F FOXF1 mutation (found in patients with ACDMPV) stimulates canonical WNT/β-catenin signaling in type 2 alveolar epithelial cells (AEC2s), leading to increased proliferation of AEC2s and decreased differentiation of AEC2s into type 1 alveolar epithelial cells (AEC1s). Alveolar organoids containing Foxf1WT/S52F lung fibroblasts and wild-type epithelial cells grew faster on Matrigel and exhibited AEC2 hyperplasia. AEC2 hyperplasia and loss of AEC1s were found in the lungs of Foxf1WT/S52F embryos, a mouse model of ACDMPV. Activation of canonical WNT/β-catenin signaling in AEC2s of lung organoids and Foxf1WT/S52F mice was associated with decreased expression of noncanonical WNT5A (Wnt family member 5A) ligand in lung fibroblasts. Mechanistically, FOXF1 directly activates the Wnt5a gene transcription through an evolutionarily conserved +6320/+6326 region located in the first intron of the Wnt5a gene. Site-directed mutagenesis of the +6320/+6326 region prevented the transcriptional activation of the Wnt5a enhancer by FOXF1. Treatment with exogenous WNT5A ligand inhibited the effects of the S52F FOXF1 mutation on canonical WNT/β-catenin signaling in alveolar organoids, preventing aberrant AEC2 expansion and restoring differentiation of AEC1s. Activation of either FOXF1 or WNT5A may provide an attractive strategy to improve lung function in patients with ACDMPV.