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Reactivation and dysregulation of the mTOR signaling pathway are a hallmark of aging and chronic lung disease; however, the impact on microvascular progenitor cells (MVPCs), capillary angiostasis, and tissue homeostasis is unknown. While the existence of an adult lung vascular progenitor has long been hypothesized, these studies show that Abcg2 enriches for a population of angiogenic tissue-resident MVPCs present in both adult mouse and human lungs using functional, lineage, and transcriptomic analyses. These studies link human and mouse MVPC-specific mTORC1 activation to decreased stemness, angiogenic potential, and disruption of p53 and Wnt pathways, with consequent loss of alveolar-capillary structure and function. Following mTOR activation, these MVPCs adapt a unique transcriptome signature and emerge as a venous subpopulation in the angiodiverse microvascular endothelial subclusters. Thus, our findings support a significant role for mTOR in the maintenance of MVPC function and microvascular niche homeostasis as well as a cell-based mechanism driving loss of tissue structure underlying lung aging and the development of emphysema.

Objective: To establish a baseline understanding of whether consuming food with the highest nutritional quality, lowest greenhouse gas emissions (GHGE) and cost differs between different UK demographic and socio-economic population groups., Design: Multiple linear regression models were fitted to evaluate the relationship between predictor socio-demographic variables in this study (i.e. sex, ethnic group, age, BMI and level of deprivation) and the response variables (i.e. consumption of items considered most nutritious, with a low GHGE and price, as a proportion of total items consumed)., Setting: The UK., Participants: 1374 adult (18-65 years) participants from the National Diet and Nutrition Survey latest waves 9-11 (2016-2017 and 2018-2019)., Results: Based on the total energy consumption in a day, the average diet-based GHGE was significantly higher for participants with a higher BMI. Non-white and most deprived participants spent significantly ( P < 0·001) less money per total energy consumption. Participants with a BMI between 18·6 and 39·9 kg/m 2 and those living in the least deprived areas consumed a significantly ( P < 0·001) higher amount of those items considered the most nutritious, with the lowest GHGE and cost per 100 kcal., Conclusions: Consumption of food with the highest nutritional quality, lowest GHGE and cost in the UK varies among those with different socio-demographic characteristics, especially the deprivation level of participants. Our analysis endorses the consideration of environmental sustainability and affordability, in addition to the consideration of nutritional quality from a health perspective, to make current dietary guidelines more encompassing and equitable.