LocationReside in the basal layer of airway epithelium. In mouse, basal cells are common in the trachea and extrapulmonary main stem bronchi that are lined with cartilage. They are rare in intrapulmonary airways that are without cartilage (Yang, et al., 2018). In human, aside from trachea and extrapulmonary bronchi, basal cells are also found all along the intrapulmonary airways, with diminishing number towards respiratory bronchioles.
