The alveolar epithelial glycocalyx

11 posts

In this project we aim to investigate the sugar-coating of the alveolar epithelial cells. This quite unknown glycocalyx of the lung may have a greater impact in the lung disease than expected, being at the border between the air and our lung tissue. At this very special location, we hypothesise that the glycocalyx may interact and play a key role on lung surfactant arrangement and function.

Mechanical strain exacerbates Pseudomonas infection in an organoid-based pneumonia-on-a-chip model

Karen Hoffmann, Ulrike Behrendt, Peter Pennitz, Holger Kirsten, Jessica Pohl, Elena Lopez-Rodriguez, Chantal Weissfuss, Jens Kollmeier, Mario Tönnies, Sebastian Brill, Konrad Steinestel, Martin Witzenrath, Werner Wenzel, Christian Zobel, and Geraldine Nouailles. J Clin Invest. 2025 (In-Press Preview) To access the full article, click here: Pseudomonas aeruginosa ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is

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Neutrophil-chemoattractant CXCL5 increases lung barrier permeability in acute lung injury

Berger, S., Goekeri, C., Pennitz, P., Gutbier, B., Michalick, L., Hoffmann, K., Lopez-Rodriguez, E., Gluhovic, V., Wienhold, S.M., Behrendt, U., Taylor, A., Dietert, K., Kirsten, H., Kunder, S., Mueller, K., Weigel, M., Hain, T., Volkers, S.M., Weis, S., Gruber, A.D., Sander, L.E., Kuebler, W.M., CAPSyS

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Cell surface RNA expression modulates alveolar epithelial function

Jubilant Kwame Abledu, Christopher J. Herbst, Raphael Brandt, Alen Kocak, Pritam Ghosh, Jacob L. Gorenflos López, Kevin Diestelhorst, Stephan Block, Christian Hackenberger, Oliver Seitz, Elena Lopez-Rodriguez, Cengiz Gökeri, Martin Witzenrath, Matthias Ochs, and Wolfgang M Kuebler. Am J Resp Cell Mol Biol 2025: in press. To access the full article,

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Enzymatic modulation of the pulmonary glycocalyx enhances susceptibility to Streptococcus pneumoniae

Cengiz Goekeri, Kerstin A.K. Linke, Karen Hoffmann, Elena Lopez-Rodriguez, Vladimir Gluhovic, Anne Voß, Sandra Kunder, Andreas Zappe, Sara Timm, Alina Nettesheim, Sebastian M.K. Schickinger, Christian M. Zobel, Kevin Pagel, Achim D Gruber, Matthias Ochs, Martin Witzenrath, Geraldine Nouailles. Am J Res Cell Mol Biol 2024: 71(6):646-658.

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Comparative electron microscopic visualization of the lung alveolar epithelial glycocalyx with different staining and labeling methods

Vladimir Gluhovic, Sara Timm, Wolfgang M. Kuebler, Elena Lopez-Rodriguez, Matthias Ochs. Journal of Anatomy 2025;246(5):770-81. To access the full article, click here: The alveolar surface of the lung is lined by an epithelium consisting of type I (AECI) and type II alveolar epithelial cells (AECII). This epithelium

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Multivalent, calcium-independent binding of surfactant protein A and D to sulfated glycosaminoglycans of the alveolar epithelial glycocalyx

Avcibas R., Vermul A., Gluhovic V., Boback N., Arroyo R., Kingma P.S., Isasi-Campillo M., Garcia-Ortega L., Griese M., Kuebler W.M., Ochs M., Lauster D., and Lopez-Rodriguez E. Am J Physiol-Lung Cell Mol Physiol 2024 326:5, L524-L538 To access the full article, click here: Lung surfactant collectins, surfactant

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Characterization of commercially available human primary alveolar epithelial cells

Herbst, C.J., Lopez-Rodriguez, E., Gluhovic, V., Schulz, S., Brandt, R., Timm, S., Abledu, J., Falivene, J., Pennitz, P., Kirsten, K., Nouailles, G., Witzenrath, M., Ochs, M., and Kuebler, W.M. Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol., 2024, 70 (5), 339-350 In vitro lung research requires appropriate cell culture models

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The unremarkable alveolar epithelial glycocalyx: a thorium dioxide-based electron microscopic comparison after heparinase or pneumolysin treatment

Timm, S., Lettau, M., Hegermann, J., Rocha, M.L., Weidenfeld, S., Fatykhova, D., Gutbier, B., Nouailles, G., Lopez-Rodriguez, E., Hocke, A., Hippenstiel, S., Witzenrath, M., Kuebler, W.M., Ochs, M.: Histochem Cell Biol. 2023;160(2):83-96. To access the full article, click here: Recent investigations analyzed in depth the

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The ultrastructural heterogeneity of lung surfactant revealed by serial section electron tomography: insights into the 3-D architecture of human tubular myelin

Lettau, M., Timm, S., Dittmayer, C., Lopez-Rodriguez, E., Ochs, M.: Am J Physiol-Lung C. 2022;322(6):L873-81. To access the full article, click here: Weibel’s hypothetical three-dimensional (3-D) model in 1966 provided first ultrastructural details into tubular myelin (TM), a unique, complex surfactant subtype found in the hypophase

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