The respiratory system is the main site of gas exchange with the external environment in complex terrestrial animals. Within the trachea and lungs are multiple different tissue niches each consisting of a myriad of cells types with critical roles in air conduction, gas exchange, providing important niche specific cell-cell interactions, connection to the cardiovascular system, and immune surveillance. How the respiratory system responds to external insults and executes the appropriate regenerative response remains challenging to study given the plethora of cell and tissue interactions for this to occur properly. This review will examine the various cell types and tissue niches found within the respiratory system and provide a comparison between mouse and human lungs and trachea to highlight important similarities and differences. Defining the critical gaps in knowledge in human lung and tracheal regeneration is critical for future development of therapies directed towards respiratory diseases.

呼吸系统是复杂陆生动物与外界环境进行气体交换的主要场所。气管和肺部内有多个不同的组织生态位，每个组织生态位由无数类型的细胞组成，在空气传导、气体交换、提供重要的生态位特异性细胞间相互作用、与心血管系统的连接和免疫监视方面发挥着关键作用。考虑到需要大量的细胞和组织相互作用才能正确发生，呼吸系统如何响应外部刺激并执行适当的再生反应仍然具有挑战性。这篇综述将检查呼吸系统内发现的各种细胞类型和组织生态位，并对小鼠和人类肺部和气管进行比较，以突出重要的相似点和差异。确定人类肺和气管再生知识的关键差距对于未来开发针对呼吸系统疾病的疗法至关重要。