Co-culture of type I and type II pneumocytes as a model of alveolar epithelium.

The epithelial tissues of the distal lung are continuously exposed to inhaled air, and are of research interest in studying respiratory exposure to both hazardous and therapeutic materials. Pharmaco-toxicological research depends on the development of sophisticated models of the alveolar epithelium, which better represent the different cell types present in the native lung and interactions between them. We developed an air-liquid interface (ALI) model of the alveolar epithelium which incorporates cell lines which bear features of type I (hAELVi) and type II (NCI-H441) epithelial cells.

Whole-Cell Photobleaching Reveals Time-Dependent Compartmentalization of Soluble Proteins by the Axon Initial Segment.

By limiting protein exchange between the soma and the axon, the axon initial segment (AIS) enables the segregation of specific proteins and hence the differentiation of the somatodendritic compartment and the axonal compartment. Electron microscopy and super-resolution fluorescence imaging have provided important insights in the ultrastructure of the AIS. Yet, the full extent of its filtering properties is not fully delineated.