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The Neuroepithelial Body Microenvironment as a Postnatal Airway Epithelial Stem Cell Niche: Critical Role for BMP Signaling

Main objective was to develop models that enable exploring the stem cell characteristics of pulmonary neuroepithelial bodies (NEBs) in postnatal mouse lungs. The NEB microenvironment (ME) consists of innervated groups of pulmonary neuroepithelial endocrine cells, covered by socalled Clara‐like cells (CLCs). Epithelial cells of intrapulmonary conductive airways typically show a very low turn‐over rate in healthy postnatal lungs. Own and literature data point out that the NEB ME is important during development and for adult lung epithelial repair after total ablation, and that CLCs may act as stem cells under these circumstances. However, the absence of a model to physiologically induce selective cell proliferation in the healthy NEB ME, has so far hampered the identification of signaling processes to support their characterization as a quiescent postnatal stem cell niche involved in postnatal airway epithelial homeostasis.