Chak Hon Luk

Abstract Immunocompetent and experimentally accessible alveolar systems to study human respiratory diseases are lacking. Here, we developed a single-donor human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived lung-on-chip (iLoC) containing type II and I alveolar epithelial cells, vascular endothelial cells, and macrophages in a microfluidic device that mimic lung three-dimensional mechanical stretching and air-liquid interface.

Abstract LRRK2 is commonly mutated in Parkinsons disease and has cell type-specific mechanisms of activation and function. In macrophages, LRRK2 is associated with lysosomes and is activated following lysosomal damage. However, effects of pathogenic LRRK2-G2019S in macrophages are unknown. Here, using primary mouse and human iPSC-derived macrophage (iPSDM) models of LRRK2-G2019S, we defined the substrates of LRRK2 after lysosomal damage.

In this issue of Cell Host and Microbe, Hiyoshi et al. show that Salmonella uses a type III secretion system (T3SS-2) to damage the Salmonella-containing vacuole, leading to complement deposition on intracellular bacteria followed by neutrophil efferocytosis that protects intracellular bacteria from the respiratory burst.