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Human pluripotent stem cell modeling of alveolar type 2 cell dysfunction caused by ABCA3 mutations

Sun, Yuliang L
Hennessey, Erin E
Heins, Hillary
Yang, Ping
Villacorta-Martin, Carlos
Kwan, Julian
Gopalan, Krithi
James, Marianne
Emili, Andrew
Cole, F Sessions
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Abstract

Mutations in ATP-binding cassette A3 (ABCA3), a phospholipid transporter critical for surfactant homeostasis in pulmonary alveolar type II epithelial cells (AEC2s), are the most common genetic causes of childhood interstitial lung disease (chILD). Treatments for patients with pathological variants of ABCA3 mutations are limited, in part due to a lack of understanding of disease pathogenesis resulting from an inability to access primary AEC2s from affected children. Here, we report the generation of AEC2s from affected patient induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) carrying homozygous versions of multiple ABCA3 mutations. We generated syngeneic CRISPR/Cas9 gene-corrected and uncorrected iPSCs and ABCA3-mutant knockin ABCA3:GFP fusion reporter lines for in vitro disease modeling. We observed an expected decreased capacity for surfactant secretion in ABCA3-mutant iPSC-derived AEC2s (iAEC2s), but we also found an unexpected epithelial-intrinsic aberrant phenotype in mutant iAEC2s, presenting as diminished progenitor potential, increased NFκB signaling, and the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines. The ABCA3:GFP fusion reporter permitted mutant-specific, quantifiable characterization of lamellar body size and ABCA3 protein trafficking, functional features that are perturbed depending on ABCA3 mutation type. Our disease model provides a platform for understanding ABCA3 mutation-mediated mechanisms of alveolar epithelial cell dysfunction that may trigger chILD pathogenesis.

Source

Sun YL, Hennessey EE, Heins H, Yang P, Villacorta-Martin C, Kwan J, Gopalan K, James M, Emili A, Cole FS, Wambach JA, Kotton DN. Human pluripotent stem cell modeling of alveolar type 2 cell dysfunction caused by ABCA3 mutations. J Clin Invest. 2024 Jan 16;134(2):e164274. doi: 10.1172/JCI164274. PMID: 38226623; PMCID: PMC10786693.

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10.1172/JCI164274
PubMed ID
38226623
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Copyright: © 2024, Sun et al. This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.