Dynamic changes of lung homeostasis from development-to-aging single-cell atlas

Aging is a global problem, in which lung aging is accompanied by functional decline and structural disorders, disturbing the health of the elderly population. To explore anti-aging methods, we constructed a dynamic atlas of 45 cell types, from embryonic development to aging on human lung samples, and we hoped to use the discoveries of development to solve the problems of aging. During development and aging, epithelial and immune cells underwent a process of acquisition and loss of obligatory function. During aging, we identified cellular phenotypic changes that result in decreased pulmonary compliance and immune homeostasis. Furthermore, we found a characteristic expression pattern for the ferritin light chain (FTL) gene, which was regulated upward during development and downward during aging in multiple component cells of the lung. Overall design: The use of human lung tissue in this study was approved by the Human Ethics Committee of Fuwai Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences. Adult lung specimens were collected with the informed consent of the patients, and aborted embryo specimens were obtained with the informed consent of the pregnant women. Embryonic lung tissue samples were collected from aborted embryos at 10, 12, 17, 20, 25, and 40 weeks of gestation. Adult lung tissue samples were collected from adults 47, 54, 67, and 74 years of age who underwent lung surgery. These adult patients underwent surgery for lung nodules (less than 30mm in diameter), and the samples were obtained from the normal tissue far away from the nodules that had been surgically removed. Pulmonary nodules were reported as non-cancerous after surgery.