Pretreatment of aged mice with retinoic acid restores alveolar regeneration via upregulation of reciprocal PDGFRA signaling

Objectives Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) primarily affects the aged population and is characterized by failure of alveolar regeneration leading to loss of alveolar type 1 cells (AT1). Aged mouse models of lung repair have demonstrated that regeneration fails with increased age. Mouse and rat lung repair models have shown retinoic acid (RA) treatment can restore alveolar regeneration. Herein we seek to determine the signaling mechanisms by which RA treatment prior to injury supports alveolar differentiation.

Design Partial pneumonectomy (PNX) lung injury model and next generation sequencing of sorted cell populations are used to uncover molecular targets regulating alveolar repair. In-vitro organoids generated from Mouse or IPF patient epithelial cells co-cultured with young, aged, or RA pretreated murine mesenchyme are used to test potential targets.

Main outcome measurements Known alveolar epithelial cell differentiation markers, including HOPX and AGER for AT1 cells are used to assess outcome of treatments.

Results Gene expression analysis of sorted fibroblasts and epithelial cells isolated from lungs of young, aged, and RA treated aged mice predicted increased PDGFA signaling that coincided with regeneration and alveolar epithelial differentiation. Addition of PDGFA induced AT1 and AT2 alveolar differentiation in both mouse and human IPF lung organoids generated with aged fibroblasts and PDGFA monoclonal antibody blocked AT1 cell differentiation in organoids generated with young murine fibroblasts.

Conclusions Our data support the concept that reciprocal PDGFA signaling activates regenerative fibroblasts that support alveolar epithelial cell differentiation and repair, providing a potential therapeutic strategy to influence the pathogenesis of IPF.

Key Question Which epithelial-mesenchymal crosstalk pathways are activated by RA pretreatment of aged lungs that support realveolarization after partial pneumonectomy surgery?

Bottom Line Increased PDGFA/PDGFRA signaling in aged lungs promotes regenerative activation of interstitial matrixfibroblast which is required for AT2 to AT1 differentiation and alveolar regeneration.

Read On In-vitro and in-vivo analysis demonstrated that PDGFA signaling supports alveolar matrixfibroblast and AT1 epithelial cell differentiation, both necessary for alveolar regeneration in aged lungs.