Mesenchymal Vangl1 and Vangl2 facilitate airway elongation and widening independently of the planar cell polarity complex

Adult mammalian lungs exhibit a fractal pattern, as each successive generation of airways is a fraction of the size of the parental branch. Achieving this structure likely requires precise control of airway length and diameter, as the embryonic airways initially lack the fractal scaling observed in the adult. In monolayers and tubes, directional growth can be regulated by the planar cell polarity (PCP) complex. Here, we characterized the roles of PCP complex components in airway initiation, elongation and widening during branching morphogenesis of the lung. Using tissue-specific knockout mice, we surprisingly found that branching morphogenesis proceeds independently of PCP complex function in the lung epithelium. Instead, we found a previously unreported Celsr1-independent role for the PCP complex components Vangl1 and Vangl2 in the pulmonary mesenchyme, where they are required for branch initiation, elongation and widening. Our data thus reveal an explicit function for Vangl1 and Vangl2 that is independent of the core PCP complex, suggesting a functional diversification of PCP complex components in vertebrate development. These data also reveal an essential role for the embryonic mesenchyme in generating the fractal structure of airways in the mature lung.