Detecting oxygen changes in the lungs

Abstract

Lung airway basal stem cells directly sense changes in oxygenation, driving lung regeneration The lungs exist in a distinct environment of constantly changing oxygen concentrations. Resultant tissue hyperoxia and hypoxia cause substantial organismal stress, and cells have evolved specific pathways to respond to such changes. This is a particularly acute challenge to the lungs, where differences in the partial pressure of oxygen (PO2) in the circulation and inspired air must be integrated to ensure appropriate cellular responses and maintain tissue homeostasis. On page 52 of this issue, Shivaraju et al. (1) characterize how airway basal stem cells sense and respond to hypoxia (low O2 tension), driving expansion of solitary neuroendocrine (NE) cells that generate paracrine signals to improve airway regeneration in mice. These data demonstrate the complexity of the mechanisms underlying how the lungs respond to changes in tissue oxygenation after injury.