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Published ahead of print on October 9, 2003, doi:10.1164/rccm.200303-371OC

Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med., Volume 168, Number 12, December 2003, 1532-1537

A more recent version of this article appeared on December 15, 2003
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Submitted on March 17, 2003
Accepted on October 8, 2003

Human Alveolar Wall Fibroblasts Directly Link Epithelial Type 2 Cells to Capillary Endothelium

Faye E Sirianni1, Fanny SF Chu1, and David C Walker1*

1 The iCAPTURE Centre, Vancouver, BC, Canada; McDonald Research Laboratories, Vancouver, BC, Canada; Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: dwalker{at}mrl.ubc.ca.

Alveolar wall fibroblasts directly link Type 2 pneumocytes to capillary endothelium through apertures in their respective basal laminae in rabbit lung (Walker et al., Microvas. Res. 50, 397-416, 1995). These fibroblasts provide a bridge from the capillary to the airway lumen along which leukocytes may migrate without disrupting extracellular matrix (Behzad et al., Microvas. Res. 51, 303-316, 1996). Normal human lungs were examined by transmission electron microscopy and serial section 3D reconstruction. We found contacts between fibroblasts and Type 2 pneumocytes and between fibroblasts and Type 1 pneumocytes which occur at holes in the epithelial basal lamina. The same fibroblast also made contact with pericytes and endothelial cells through similar apertures. A survey of 41 Type 2 pneumocytes revealed that 54% of Type 2 pneumocytes had at least one gap in their basal lamina. By morphometric analysis, these gaps occupied approximately 5.58 ± 1.51% (mean ± SE) of the area underneath Type 2 pneumocytes. We conclude that a population of single fibroblasts link Type 2 pneumocytes to adjacent capillary endothelial cells in alveolar walls of human lung. We propose that these fibroblasts are organized to maintain communication between epithelium and mesenchyme and to provide directional information to migrating leukocytes.
Key words: Leukocyte Migration, Transmission Electron Microscopy, 3D Reconstruction, Heterotypic Cellular Contacts




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