SOX21 modulates SOX2-initiated differentiation of epithelial cells in the extrapulmonary airways
- Erasmus University Medical Center, Netherlands
Abstract
SOX2 expression levels are crucial for the balance between maintenance and differentiation of airway progenitor cells during development and regeneration. Here, we describe patterning of the mouse proximal airway epithelium by SOX21, which coincides with high levels of SOX2 during development. Airway progenitor cells in this SOX2+/SOX21+ zone show differentiation to basal cells, specifying cells for the extrapulmonary airways. Loss of SOX21 showed an increased differentiation of SOX2+ progenitor cells to basal and ciliated cells during mouse lung development. We propose a mechanism where SOX21 inhibits differentiation of airway progenitors by antagonizing SOX2-induced expression of specific genes involved in airway differentiation. Additionally, in the adult tracheal epithelium SOX21 inhibits basal to ciliated cell differentiation. This suppressing function of SOX21 on differentiation contrasts SOX2, which mainly drives differentiation of epithelial cells during development and regeneration after injury. Furthermore, using human fetal lung organoids and adult bronchial epithelial cells, we show that SOX2+/SOX21+ regionalization is conserved. Lastly, we show that the interplay between SOX2 and SOX21 is context and concentration dependent leading to regulation of differentiation of the airway epithelium.
Data availability
All data generated or analysed during this study are included in the manuscript and supporting files. Source data files have been provided for Figures 1 to 6
Article and author information
Author details
Funding
Sophia Foundation for Medical Research (S14-12)
- Evelien Eenjes
The funders had no role in study design, data collection and interpretation, or the decision to submit the work for publication.
Reviewing Editor
- Melanie Königshoff, University of Pittsburgh, United States
Ethics
Animal experimentation: All animal experimental protocols were approved the national committee ("Centrale Commissie Dierproeven"; number AVD101002017871) and by the animal welfare committee of the veterinary authorities (prtocol numbers 17-871-01 and 17-871-02) of the Erasmus Medical Center.
Version history
- Received: March 27, 2020
- Preprint posted: June 4, 2020 (view preprint)
- Accepted: July 20, 2021
- Accepted Manuscript published: July 21, 2021 (version 1)
- Version of Record published: August 3, 2021 (version 2)
Copyright
© 2021, Eenjes et al.
This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License permitting unrestricted use and redistribution provided that the original author and source are credited.
Metrics
-
- 1,264
- views
-
- 181
- downloads
-
- 11
- citations
Views, downloads and citations are aggregated across all versions of this paper published by eLife.
Download links
A two-part list of links to download the article, or parts of the article, in various formats.
Downloads (link to download the article as PDF)
Open citations (links to open the citations from this article in various online reference manager services)
Cite this article (links to download the citations from this article in formats compatible with various reference manager tools)
SOX21 modulates SOX2-initiated differentiation of epithelial cells in the extrapulmonary airways
eLife 10:e57325.
https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.57325
Further reading
-
- Cell Biology
High-altitude polycythemia (HAPC) affects individuals living at high altitudes, characterized by increased red blood cells (RBCs) production in response to hypoxic conditions. The exact mechanisms behind HAPC are not fully understood. We utilized a mouse model exposed to hypobaric hypoxia (HH), replicating the environmental conditions experienced at 6000 m above sea level, coupled with in vitro analysis of primary splenic macrophages under 1% O2 to investigate these mechanisms. Our findings indicate that HH significantly boosts erythropoiesis, leading to erythrocytosis and splenic changes, including initial contraction to splenomegaly over 14 days. A notable decrease in red pulp macrophages (RPMs) in the spleen, essential for RBCs processing, was observed, correlating with increased iron release and signs of ferroptosis. Prolonged exposure to hypoxia further exacerbated these effects, mirrored in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Single-cell sequencing showed a marked reduction in macrophage populations, affecting the spleen’s ability to clear RBCs and contributing to splenomegaly. Our findings suggest splenic ferroptosis contributes to decreased RPMs, affecting erythrophagocytosis and potentially fostering continuous RBCs production in HAPC. These insights could guide the development of targeted therapies for HAPC, emphasizing the importance of splenic macrophages in disease pathology.
-
- Cell Biology
Mapping proteins in and associated with the Golgi apparatus reveals how this cellular compartment emerges in budding yeast and progresses over time.
