Investigating the Role of NKX2-1 in Early Human Lung Development Using an Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell (iPSC) Model

NK 2同源框1（NKX 2 -1）是肺组织中一种重要的转录因子 所有肺上皮细胞均来源于NKX 2 -1+祖细胞库。NKX2-1 基因敲除小鼠的肺发育不全，而NKX 2 -1突变的人患有 呼吸功能不全、甲状腺功能减退和神经系统问题， 脑肺甲状腺综合征众所周知，NKX 2 -1的重要性来自于它的能力， 影响下游靶基因的表达，包括表面活性剂等基因， 蛋白质和分泌球蛋白，它们对肺功能有重要作用。尽管其知名 NKX 2 -1在人类早期发育中的作用尚未完全确定。 对人类早期发育的研究一直受到以下困难的严重阻碍： 获取人类胎儿组织以及遗传操作胎儿衍生细胞的问题。一 最近开发的技术，使研究人员能够调查早期人类发展 是诱导多能干细胞（iPSC）系统，它允许产生和随后的 将干细胞分化为所选择的组织类型。我们的实验室和其他人已经开发出 从iPSC产生气道和肺泡细胞的方案，积极重演发育 沿着。我们的团队还获得了技术方面的专业知识， 操纵我们的细胞，包括单细胞转录组学和CRISPR干扰（CRISPRi）。 在这个项目中，我们寻求协同联合收割机的组成部分，这一科学工具箱， 研究NKX 2 -1如何影响人类早期发育。 使用我们的iPSC系统，我们试图测试NKX 2 -1在细胞内起核心作用的假设。 NKX 2 -1的下游靶点与肺的特化和模式有关， 依赖于细胞类型和发育时间点。我们寻求这样做 通过基因组结合试验，在几个点上鉴定NKX 2 -1结合位点， 发展此外，我们将使用NKX 2 -1突变体进行单细胞mRNA测序， 细胞系与校正了该突变的等基因细胞系相比。使用这两 我们希望通过这种方法来确定NKX 2 -1在整个发育过程中的结合位点，并观察NKX 2 -1在发育过程中的作用。 NKX 2 -1突变带来的分子后果。我们还寻求调节 表达NKX 2 -1的下游靶标，包括SOX 2、TP 63和NKX 2 -1本身， 进一步推断NKX 2 -1的基因调控网络。基于iPSC的模型 允许前所未有的基因操作和高分辨率 转录组学，以进一步了解一个关键的转录因子如何影响发展。

NK2 Homeobox 1 (NKX2-1) is a critically important transcription factor in lung development, with all lung epithelia being derived from an NKX2-1+ progenitor pool. Nkx2-1 knockout mice have hypoplastic lungs, and humans with NKX2-1 mutations suffer from respiratory insufficiency, hypothyroidism, and neurological problems, a disease known broadly as brain-lung-thyroid syndrome. It is known that NKX2-1’s importance is derived from its ability to influence the expression of downstream target genes, which include genes like surfactant proteins and secretoglobins, which contribute significantly to lung function. Despite its known importance, NKX2-1’s role in early human development is not fully defined. Studies into early human development have been significantly hindered by difficulties in access to human fetal tissue and issues with genetically manipulating fetal derived cells. A recently developed technology that allows researchers to investigate early human development is the induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) system, which allows for generation and subsequent differentiation of stem cells to tissue types of choice. Our lab and others have developed protocols to generate airway and alveolar cells from iPSCs, actively recapitulating development along the way. Our group has also gained expertise in technologies to characterize and manipulate our cells, including single cell transcriptomics and CRISPR interference (CRISPRi). In this project, we seek to synergistically combine the components of this scientific toolbox to study how NKX2-1 influences early human development. Using our iPSC system, we seek to test the hypothesis that NKX2-1 plays a central role in lung specification and patterning, and that the downstream targets of NKX2-1 are context dependent and vary based on cell-type and developmental time point. We seek to do this through genomic binding assays to identify NKX2-1 binding loci at several points in development. In addition, we will perform single cell mRNA sequencing with an NKX2-1 mutant cell line in comparison with an isogenic cell line with this mutation corrected. Using these two approaches we hope to identify NKX2-1’s binding loci across development, and to observe the molecular consequences that come with an NKX2-1 mutations. We also seek to modulate expression of downstream targets of NKX2-1, including SOX2, TP63, and NKX2-1 itself to further deduce the gene regulatory network by which NKX2-1 acts. Our iPSC-based model allows for the unprecedented coupling of genetic manipulation and high-resolution transcriptomics to further understand how a critical transcription factor influences development.