Cell-Cell Communication and Lung Repair

The structure and function of the lung are maintained by complex interactions between its resident cell types, including epithelial, endothelial and fibroblast. Injury, infection and aging alter the relative balance of these cell types and their individual activities, resulting in altered cell-cell interactions that can disturb lung structure and function, leading to loss of function and disease.

In this research project, the Tissue Repair and Mechanobiology Laboratory is studying cell-cell interactions in a number of model systems. These include organoids formed from human lung cells and precision-cut lung slice cultures. The team aims to better understand how such cellular interactions maintain homeostasis, and how they become dysregulated in disease conditions.

The long-term goal of this project is to identify critical pathways through which to restore reparative or homeostatic interactions between lung resident cell types. Ultimately, this may lead to more-effective repair of the lung after injury or chronic lung diseases such as pulmonary fibrosis.