Human Tissue and Cell Core

ABSTRACT The overall goal of this Program is to understand the role of MUC5B in establishing a vulnerable lung and the transition of a vulnerable lung to a lung characterized by persistent injury of bronchoalveolar epithelia and activation of lung fibroblasts. Core B: Human Tissue and Cell Core will as serve as a centralized location for resources needed for human tissue- and cell-based investigations in the Projects and is therefore an integral integrative component of the Program. Human tissue and cells isolated from specific functional lung regions of extensively phenotyped IPF research participants are a unique resource that will benefit all three Projects in the Program and will need to be carefully maintained. The goals of Core B, the Human Tissue and Cell Core, are to recruit IPF subjects and phenotype their clinical, radiologic and pathologic features; obtain, process, genotype and store tissue specimens of IPF subjects and controls; and to make available to each Project in this Program high quality tissues and cells from specific regions of the fibrotic and normal lung. We will do this via the following key functions: 1. Recruitment of IPF subjects and controls 2. Clinical phenotyping 3. Specimen acquisition, genotyping, banking and distribution 4. Isolation and storage of unpassaged and unselected cells (all cell types) from different functional regions of IPF and control lungs. 5. Isolation and storage of airway epithelial cells, alveolar epithelial cells and fibroblasts from different functional regions of IPF and control lungs. 6. Distribution of tissue, cells, and clinical phenotyping data to Projects. The Human Tissue and Cell Core will serve as a centralized location for resources needed for human tissue- and cell-based investigations in the Projects and is therefore an integral integrative component of the Program. Human tissue and cells isolated from specific functional lung regions of extensively phenotyped IPF research participants are a unique resource that will benefit all three Projects in the Program and will need to be carefully maintained.