Differentiated Type II Pneumocytes Can Be Reprogrammed by Ectopic Sox2 Expression
Figure 4
Sox2 induces Clara-like cells and BASC cells.
Lungs of control (A, C, E) and iSox2SPC-rtTA (B, D, F) lungs treated with doxycycline for 3 (A, B), 9 (C, D) and 28 (E, F) days were stained with the Clara cell marker Cc10. Endogenous expression of Cc10 is demonstrated in the conducting airways (A, arrowhead), which also shows the absence of Cc10 positive cells in the distal airways (A, C, E) of control lungs. The progressive increase in number of Clara-like cells (Cc10+) in the iSox2SPC-rtTA lungs with prolonged induction of iSox2 is clearly noticeable (B, D, F). Colocalization of Cc10 (red) and Prospc (green) is demonstrated with dual immunofluorescence staining (G–I), indicating the emergence of BASC cells (arrows). Arrowheads show Prospc positive cells that lack CC10 (and iSox2) expression. Scale bars: 50 µm (B, D, F), 25 µm (G–I).