Single cell transcriptome analysis of distal adult murine lung airway epithelium

To comprehensively study the heterogeneity within distal airway epithelium, we performed single cell transcriptomic analysis of the naive lung samples. Our analysis reveals that distal lung airway epithelial cells are highly heterogenous. We employed supervised clustering to identify a rare group of cells with transcriptional similiarities to embryonic distal lung bud tip progenitors. This approach identified a quiescent progenitor population of airway cells that accounted for all in vitro regenerative activity. Furthermore, these cells were also required for in vivo transplantation, reconstitution of alveoli, and functional recovery of injured mice. These findings indicate that small subpopulations of specialized stem/progenitors are required for effective lung regeneration and could potentially be used as therapeutic adjuncts after major lung injury.