Epithelial Cell Biology in ENT Research Group UCL

A Bespoke Programmable Interpenetrating Elastomer Network Composite Laryngeal Stent for Expedited Paediatric Laryngotracheal Reconstruction A programmable interpenetrating double-network architecture, created via 3D-TIPS printing and resin infusion, synergistically combines thermoplastic and thermosetting elastomers to balance structural....

Lizzie Maughan @uclchildhealth.bsky.social led this collaboration with Wenhui Song's lab to develop a bespoke airway stent for use in a 5-month-old with near-complete laryngeal stenosis. The novel 3D-printed stent enabled safe airway reconstruction.

📄 doi.org/10.1002/adfm...

🙏🏻 Thank you to all of our collaborators and funders. We'd love to try this compound out in other primary epithelial cell types, so please get in touch if you have any questions or would like the protocol.

🫁 Human airway basal cells cultured in this medium are also able to engraft and differentiate following transplantation into mouse tracheas suggesting potential for regenerative medicine l

🥼 We generated disease models that recapitulate the disease phenotype for two gene mutations for primary ciliary dyskinesia, including the most commonly mutated gene, DNAH5.

WS6 enables scalable ex vivo expansion and gene editing of epithelial basal stem cells Modeling human epithelial diseases and developing cell-based therapies require robust methods to expand and manipulate epithelial stem and progenitor cells in vitro. Basal stem/progenitor cells from s...

Our latest work is available on BioRxiv!

WS6 allows extended culture of basal epithelial cells and allows clonal expansion of primary airway epithelial cells after CRISPR editing, with clonal populations retaining their differentiation capacity.

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Had a wonderful time at the @bsgct.bsky.social annual conference!
I was delighted to be able to share our work on human airway epithelial cell culture for transplantation and how this contributes to the @epicentr.bsky.social efforts towards a cell and gene therapy for airway epidermolysis bullosa.

Graphs and micrographs investigating Wnt pathway activating compounds as promoters of airway basal cell proliferation.

Yuki Ishii, @jess0rr.bsky.social Sam Janes, @robhynds.bsky.social @epicentr.bsky.social & team identify Wnt pathway activators as potential pro-regenerative therapies in their compound screen in human airway basal cells.
journals.biologists.com/jcs/article/...
journals.biologists.com/jcs/article/...

Immunofluorescence staining of airway organoids cultured in the presence of Wnt activating compounds.

Thanks to the UKRMP Engineered Cell Environment Hub and @longfonds.bsky.social BREATH consortia for supporting this work and to the Rosetrees Trust for @jess0rr.bsky.social PhD Plus award.

First person – Yuki Ishii and Jessica Orr ABSTRACT. First Person is a series of interviews with the first authors of a selection of papers published in Journal of Cell Science, helping researchers promote themselves alongside their papers. Yu...

If you are interested in hearing more about our experience in this project and publishing in the Journal of Cell Science, check out Yuki and @jess0rr.bsky.social’s First Person interview

doi.org/10.1242/jcs....

Compound screening in human airway basal cells identifies Wnt pathway activators as potential pro-regenerative therapies Summary: A high-throughput screen of 1429 compounds in primary human airway epithelial cells was used to identify that Wnt pathway-activating compounds increase cell proliferation.

🚨Today our phenotypic screening work with primary human airway basal cells is published @jcellsci.bsky.social!

We found that multiple Wnt activating compounds promote basal cell proliferation and validated 1-azakenpaullone in vivo.

doi.org/10.1242/jcs....

Happy holidays from everyone in the EpiCENTR group!

Follow @jess0rr.bsky.social and @drewfarr.bsky.social for our latest throughout 2025 🎁

(h/t scholargoggler.com)

Here's a starter pack that focusses on lung biology, regeneration and cancer.

Let me know who I'm missing!

go.bsky.app/VC83FZm

Can we join please?

Can we join please?