Hypoxic conditions promote a proliferative, poorly differentiated phenotype in COPD lung tissue progenitor cells in vitro.

PURPOSE: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients experience hypoxemia and lung tissue hypoxia, causing vasoconstriction, and at its most severe Cor pulmonale. However, minimal attention has been given to the effects of hypoxia at the cellular level. We hypothesize that a persistent progenitor cell population undergoes an aberrant differentiation process, influenced by changes in oxygen. METHODS: Distal lung progenitor cells from two emphysematous donors were cultured in 21% and 2% oxygen. Proliferation was determined on collagen-coated plastic and in 3T3-J2 co-culture. Epithelial (E-cadherin, pan-cytokeratin) and progenitor (TP63, cytokeratin 5) marker expressions were examined. Cells were differentiated at air-liquid interface, and ciliated, mucus-producing, and club cell populations identified by immunofluorescence. MUC5AC, MUC5B, CC10, and TP63 expression were determined using qRT-PCR, mucin5AC, and mucin5B protein levels by ELISA, and secreted mucin by periodic acid biotin hydrazide assay. RESULTS: Cells were positive for epithelial and progenitor markers at isolation and passage 5. Passage 5 cells in hypoxia increased the proportion of TP63 by 10% from 51.6 ± 1.2% to 62.6 ± 2.3% (p ≤ 0.01). Proliferative capacity was greater on 3T3J2 cells and in 2% oxygen, supporting the emergence of a proliferation unrestricted population with limited differentiation capacity. Differentiation resulted in ßIV tubulin positive-ciliated cells, mucin5AC, mucin5B, and CC10 positive secretory cells. Epithelial barrier formation was reduced (p ≤ 0.0001) in hypoxia-expanded cells. qRT-PCR showed higher mucin expression in 2% cells, significantly so with MUC5B (p ≤ 0.05). Although overall mucin5AC and mucin5B content was greater in 21% cells, normalization of secreted mucin to DNA showed a trend for increased mucin by low oxygen cells. CONCLUSIONS: These results demonstrate that hypoxia promotes a proliferative phenotype while affecting subsequent progenitor cell differentiation capacity. Furthermore, the retained differentiation potential becomes skewed to a more secretory phenotype, demonstrating that hypoxia may be contributing to disease symptoms and severity in COPD patients.