Work

Enhanced proliferation tracer reveals Dorsal-Ventral asymmetry in tracheal epithelial Renewal

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: To elucidate spatiotemporal dynamics of tissue renewal, we developed evProTracer, an enhanced dual-recombinase lineage tracing system for cumulative in vivo labeling of proliferating cells. Robust longitudinal tracing using evProTracer in murine tracheal epithelium revealed near-complete homeostatic turnover (91.6 ± 1.29% epithelial replacement over 25 weeks), while basal cell-specific Trp63-evProTracer uncovered a dorsally biased proliferation pattern, contributing 33.88 ± 1.44% of total epithelial renewal over 6 months, with early differentiation bias toward club cells. These data demonstrate that ventral epithelial renewal is primarily mediated by non-basal facultative progenitors, revealing their constitutive activation during homeostasis. This study uncovers spatially stratified renewal hierarchies: dorsal basal stem cell reservoirs versus ventral facultative non-basal progenitors. evProTracer provides a versatile platform for investigating tissue plasticity hierarchies in regenerative organs.

Source: Stem Cell Research & Therapy

DOI: 10.1186/s13287-025-04888-0

Authors: Haiyuan Chen, Yazhu Zhong, Hao Zhang, Wei Yu

Language: English

Topic: Developmental Biology and Gene Regulation

Subfield: Molecular Biology

Field: Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

Domain: Life Sciences

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $3,190

Funders: National Natural Science Foundation of China, Guangdong Medical Research Foundation

Awards: G1336985358, G7266495302