Primary Pulmonary Cells

Here you can find epithelium, endothelium, smooth muscle cells and fibroblasts from different parts of the pulmonary system.You can also find medium to grow the cells as well as RNA, DNA and protein derived from these cells.

The respiratory epithelium is composed of a mixed population of ciliated, nonciliated, and mucous-secreting cells from proximal to distal airways. The individual characteristics of the subtypes of these cells create not only an effective physical barrier against various noxious substances, but also a highly sophisticated host defense system by producing and releasing a large number of chemical mediators and cytokines. The airway epithelial cells forming a continuous lining to the airways play a unique role as a protective physical and functional barrier to external deleterious agents. These cells function in the regulation of immune responses by contributing to host defense. Many airway diseases involve damage to the airway surface epithelium. The bronchial epithelium consists of the surface epithelial cells and mucus glands. The surface epithelial cells are made up of three principle cell types: basal, goblet, and ciliated cells, of which the latter two form a suprabasal columnar structure and are necessary for mucociliary clearance. Alveolar epithelial cells line more than 99% of the internal surface area of the lung.

The vascular endothelial cells contribute to the maintenance of vascular homeostasis. They synthesize and secrete activators as well as inhibitors of both the coagulation system and the fibrinolysis system, and mediators that influence the adhesion and aggregation of blood platelets. Endothelial cells also release molecules that control cell proliferation and modulate vessel wall tone. The pulmonary microvascular endothelial cells form a semiselective barrier that is critical for lung gas exchange and regulation of fluid and solute passage between the blood and interstitial compartments in the lung.

Airway smooth muscle is fundamental in maintaining airway tone. They exist in the trachea and in the bronchial tree up to the terminal bronchioles. Their specialized ultrastructural features and regulatory mechanisms are the basis for normal airway function. Smooth muscle cell is the cellular substate of most significant arterial disease. In patients with severe asthma, the characteristic feature is an increase in bronchial smooth muscle mass. Evidence suggests that airway smooth muscle also undergoes marked phenotypic modulation in this disease and other disease states such as chronic bronchitis and emphysema as well as in normal lung development. Airway smooth muscle may also serve immunomodulatory functions.

Fibroblasts is the most abundant cell type in lung interstitium. They are mesenchymal cells which derived from the embryonic mesoderm and they are one of easiest types of cells to grow in culture. Their durability makes them amenable to a wide variety of manipulations ranging from studies employing gene transfection to microinjection. There is good evidence that fibroblasts in different parts of the body are intrinsically different. Pulmonary fibroblasts play an important role in the repair and remodeling processes following injury.