The differentiation of embryonic stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells into airway and alveolar epithelial cells

Stem cells and regenerative medicine embody a potential significant advancement for the study and treatment of respiratory diseases. The differentiation of embryonic stem cells (ESCs) and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) into respiratory lineages can generate innovative models to study acquired and inherited lung diseases, provide pioneering methods for drug screening or toxicology studies, and contribute groundbreaking therapeutic strategies for lung diseases by cell therapy or lung organogenesis. This chapter details the process of "directed differentiation" in three sections. The first section introduces the applications and challenges of differentiating ESCs or iPSCs into cells of a respiratory lineage. The second section chronicles the morphological and molecular processes of natural murine and human lung development, as current differentiation protocols mimic these pathways. The third and final section illustrates the process of "directed differentiation" including the factors required at each stage and the markers and phenotypes associated with the different respiratory cell types. This section will also describe the challenges and pitfalls associated with each stage of differentiation and how they can be mitigated.