The alveolar epithelial glycocalyx

Copyright: © 2025 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. on behalf of Society for Mucosal Immunology. 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.

Sarah Berger, Cengiz Goekeri, Peter Pennitz, Birgitt Gutbier, Laura Michalick, Karen Hoffmann, Elena Lopez-Rodriguez,  Vladimir Gluhovic,  Sandra-Maria Wienhold,  Ulrike Behrendt,  Alexander Taylor,  Kristina Dietert, Holger Kirsten, Sandra Kunder, Kristina Mueller, Markus Weigel, Torsten Hain, Sarah M. Volkers, Sebastian Weis, Achim D. Gruber, Leif E. Sander, Wolfgang M. Kuebler, CAPSyS study

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,

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.

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

SP-A and SP-D function has been related to innate immunity of the lung based on their binding to sugar residues at pathogen surfaces. Here, we demonstrated that these proteins bind to glycosaminoglycans present at typical cell surfaces like the alveolar epithelial glycocalyx.

In vitro lung research requires appropriate cell culture models that adequately mimic in vivo structure and function. Specifically, these cells are often restricted by terminally altered expression while lacking important alveolar epithelial characteristics.

The present study provides quantitative data on the differential glycocalyx distribution on AEI and AEII based on cThO2 and demonstrates alveolar glycocalyx shedding in response to HEP or PLY resulting in a structural reduction in both glycosaminoglycan height and density.

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