Ontogeny of type I procollagen expression during human fetal lung development.

The cellular sites of type I procollagen (PCI) production were investigated during fetal and early postnatal human lung development. PCI-synthesizing cells and sites of recent collagen deposition were visualized by immunoperoxidase staining of lung tissue with monoclonal antibodies to human PCI. In selected cases, serial sections were also examined by in situ hybridization to establish the cellular sites of PCI gene expression and mRNA accumulation. PCI cytoplasmic immunostaining generally correlated with sites of mRNA accumulation and with known sites of interstitial collagen deposition, including the adventitial and muscular layers of large blood vessels, submesothelial and peribronchial connective tissue, perichondrium, and interstitial matrix. However, we also observed developmental changes in relative PCI expression for each of these compartments, heterogeneity in the level of PCI expression by cells within individual anatomic subcompartments, and variations in the level of PCI expression along the length of pulmonary blood vessels and airways. These studies emphasize the complexity of developmentally regulated alterations in procollagen production during lung development.