title: Alveolar type II cell transplantation restores pulmonary surfactant protein levels in lung fibrosis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Alveolar Type II cell transplantation has been proposed as a cell therapy for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Its long-term benefits include repair of lung fibrosis, but its success partly depends on the restoration of lung homeostasis. Our aim was to evaluate surfactant protein restoration after alveolar Type II cell transplantation in an experimental model of bleomycin-induced lung fibrosis in rats.
  
  
  METHODS
  Lung fibrosis was induced by intratracheal instillation of bleomycin. Alveolar Type II cells were obtained from healthy animals and transplanted 14 days after bleomycin was administered. Furthermore, one group transplanted with alveolar macrophages and another group treated with surfactant were established to evaluate the specificity of the alveolar Type II cell transplantation. The animals were euthanized at 21 days after bleomycin instillation. Lung fibrosis was confirmed by a histologic study and an evaluation of the hydroxyproline content. Changes in surfactant proteins were evaluated by mRNA expression, Western blot and immunofluorescence studies.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The group with alveolar Type II cell transplantation was the only one to show a reduction in the degree of lung fibrosis and a complete recovery to normal levels of surfactant proteins.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  One of the mechanisms involved in the beneficial effect of alveolar Type II cell transplantation is restoration of lung surfactant protein levels, which is required for proper respiratory function.
authors.affiliation: Department of Experimental Pathology, Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques de Barcelona, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas (IIBB-CSIC) Barcelona, Spain; Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS) Barcelona, Spain; Centro de Investigaciones Biomédicas en Red de Enfermedades Respiratorias (CIBERES) Mallorca, Spain.
authors.forename: Raquel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Guillamat-Prats
authors.affiliation: Department of Experimental Pathology, Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques de Barcelona, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas (IIBB-CSIC) Barcelona, Spain; Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS) Barcelona, Spain; Centro de Investigaciones Biomédicas en Red de Enfermedades Respiratorias (CIBERES) Mallorca, Spain.
authors.forename: Gemma
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gay-Jordi
authors.affiliation: Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS) Barcelona, Spain; Centro de Investigaciones Biomédicas en Red de Enfermedades Respiratorias (CIBERES) Mallorca, Spain; Servei de Pneumologia, Institud Clínic del Tórax, Hospital Clínic, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Antoni
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Xaubet
authors.affiliation: Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS) Barcelona, Spain; Centro de Investigaciones Biomédicas en Red de Enfermedades Respiratorias (CIBERES) Mallorca, Spain; Servei de Pneumologia, Institud Clínic del Tórax, Hospital Clínic, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Victor I
authors.initials: VI
authors.lastname: Peinado
authors.affiliation: Department of Experimental Pathology, Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques de Barcelona, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas (IIBB-CSIC) Barcelona, Spain; Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS) Barcelona, Spain; Centro de Investigaciones Biomédicas en Red de Enfermedades Respiratorias (CIBERES) Mallorca, Spain. Electronic address: anna.serranomollar@iibb.csic.es.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Serrano-Mollar
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001761:Bleomycin / Q000009:adverse effects; D017690:Cell Transplantation / Q000379:methods*; D064987:Cell- and Tissue-Based Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D006706:Homeostasis / Q000502:physiology; D008264:Macrophages / Q000166:cytology / Q000637:transplantation*; D011650:Pulmonary Alveoli / Q000166:cytology*; D011658:Pulmonary Fibrosis / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000628:therapy*; D037661:Pulmonary Surfactant-Associated Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D020545:Respiratory Mucosa / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology; D012137:Respiratory System / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D037661:Pulmonary Surfactant-Associated Proteins; D001761:Bleomycin
keywords: alveolar Type II cells; cell therapy; pulmonary fibrosis; surfactant protein A; surfactant protein B; surfactant protein C; surfactant protein D