# Decoding the Cellular Niches Critical for Lung Maturation and Pathogenesis

> **NIH NIH U01** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO · 2020 · $848,982

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
 The human lung is vast organ with exquisite regional differences in the form of
cellular niches best defined at single-cell resolution. Emerging evidence led to growing
appreciation that the collective roles of these fine specializations are fundamental for
lung function. Guided by the scientific premise that these niches are often sites of
pathogenesis, we propose to map these niches in normal and disease tissues and
directly compare them at the single-cell resolution. This goal is directly responsive to the
mission of LungMap Phase 2 to “extend to more specific and rare cell types.”
 To achieve this goal, we have gathered an interdisciplinary team of established and
rising, basic and clinical investigators with complementary strengths in developmental
biology (Sun), cell biology and immunology (Prince, Sajti), technology development and
informatics (Ren, Preissl, Wang and Xu). Together, we have a track record of studying
the control of normal lung maturation, as well as mechanisms underlying a number of
LungMap-highlighted diseases, including bronchopulmonary dysplasia, congenital
diaphragmatic hernia, childhood interstitial lung disease, and pediatric pulmonary
hypertension (PPH). We will use cutting-edge technologies such as single-nucleus
ATACseq, single-cell and single-nucleus RNAseq, multiplex antibody and RNA in situ
hybridization, and three-dimensional imaging. Using these, we will systematically define
the exciting kaleidoscope of cell types in the human lung, with an emphasis on cellular
niches that are central to pathogenesis.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9998748
- **Project number:** 5U01HL148867-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO
- **Principal Investigator:** Xin Sun
- **Activity code:** U01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $848,982
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-08-19 → 2024-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9998748

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9998748, Decoding the Cellular Niches Critical for Lung Maturation and Pathogenesis (5U01HL148867-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9998748. Licensed CC0.

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