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Query: UNIPROT:P06889 (Mol)
 630,302 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Early embryonic lung branching morphogenesis is regulated by many growth factor-mediated pathways. Bone morphogenetic protein 4 (BMP4) is one of the morphogens that stimulate epithelial branching in mouse embryonic lung explant culture. To further understand the molecular mechanisms of BMP4-regulated lung development, we studied the biological role of Smad-ubiquitin regulatory factor 1 (Smurf1), an ubiquitin ligase specific for BMP receptor-regulated Smads, during mouse lung development. The temporo-spatial expression pattern of Smurf1 in mouse embryonic lung was first determined by quantitative real-time PCR and immunohistochemistry. Overexpression of Smurf1 in airway epithelial cells by intratracheal introduction of recombinant adenoviral vector dramatically inhibited embryonic day (E) 11.5 lung explant growth in vitro. This inhibition of lung epithelial branching was restored by coexpression of Smad1 or by addition of soluble BMP4 ligand into the culture medium. Studies at the cellular level show that overexpression of Smurf1 reduced epithelial cell proliferation and differentiation, as documented by reduced PCNA-positive cell index and by reduced mRNA levels for surfactant protein C and Clara cell protein 10 expression. Further studies found that overexpression of Smurf1 reduced BMP-specific Smad1 and Smad5, but not Smad8, protein levels. Thus overexpression of Smurf1 specifically promotes Smad1 and Smad5 ubiquitination and degradation in embryonic lung epithelium, thereby modulating the effects of BMP4 on embryonic lung growth.
Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol 2004 Feb
PMID:Overexpression of Smurf1 negatively regulates mouse embryonic lung branching morphogenesis by specifically reducing Smad1 and Smad5 proteins. 1471 1

It is well established that hyperoxia injures and kills alveolar endothelial and type I epithelial cells of the lung. Although type II epithelial cells remain morphologically intact, it remains unclear whether they are also damaged. DNA integrity was investigated in adult mice whose type II cells were identified by their endogenous expression of pro-surfactant protein C or transgenic expression of enhanced green fluorescent protein. In mice exposed to room air, punctate perinuclear 8-oxoguanine staining was detected in approximately 4% of all alveolar cells and in 30% of type II cells. After 48 or 72 h of hyperoxia, 8-oxoguanine was detected in 11% of all alveolar cells and in >60% of type II cells. 8-Oxoguanine colocalized by confocal microscopy with the mitochondrial transmembrane protein cytochrome oxidase subunit 1. Type II cells isolated from hyperoxic lungs exhibited nuclear DNA strand breaks by comet assay even though they were viable and morphologically indistinguishable from cells isolated from lungs exposed to room air. These data reveal that type II cells exposed to in vivo hyperoxia have oxidized and fragmented DNA. Because type II cells are essential for lung remodeling, our findings raise the possibility that they are proficient in DNA repair.
Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol 2004 May
PMID:In vivo exposure to hyperoxia induces DNA damage in a population of alveolar type II epithelial cells. 1472 12

The formation of amyloid fibrils is associated with several devastating diseases in humans and animals, including e.g. Alzheimer's disease (AD) and the spongiform encephalopathies. Here, we review and discuss the current knowledge on two amyloid peptides: lung surfactant protein C (SP-C) and the amyloid beta-peptide (Abeta), implicated in human lung disease and in AD, respectively. Both these hydrophobic peptides are derived from the transmembrane region of their precursor protein, and can transit from a monomeric alpha-helical state to a beta-sheet fibril. The alpha helices of SP-C and Abeta are composed of amino acid residues with inherently higher propensities for beta strand than helix conformation. Their helical states are stabilized by a membrane environment, and loss of membrane association thus promotes structural conversion and fibril formation. We speculate that the loss of structural context for sequences with a high propensity for formation of beta sheets may be a common feature of amyloid formation in general.
Cell Mol Life Sci 2004 Feb
PMID:Proteolytic generation and aggregation of peptides from transmembrane regions: lung surfactant protein C and amyloid beta-peptide. 1477 Feb 96

Clinical studies have associated increased transforming growth factor (TGF)-alpha and EGF receptor with lung remodeling in diseases including bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD). BPD is characterized by disrupted alveolar and vascular morphogenesis, inflammation, and remodeling. To determine whether transient increases in TGF-alpha are sufficient to disrupt postnatal lung morphogenesis, we utilized neonatal transgenic mice conditionally expressing TGF-alpha. Expression of TGF-alpha from postnatal days 3 to 5 disrupted postnatal alveologenesis, causing permanent enlargement of distal air spaces in neonatal and adult mice. Lung volume-to-body weight ratios and lung compliance were increased in adult TGF-alpha transgenic mice, whereas tissue and airway elastance were reduced. Elastin fibers in the alveolar septae were fragmented and disorganized. Pulmonary vascular morphogenesis was abnormal in TGF-alpha mice, with attenuated and occasionally tortuous arterial branching. The ratios of right ventricle weight to left ventricle plus septal weight were increased in TGF-alpha mice, indicating pulmonary hypertension. Electron microscopy showed gaps in the capillary endothelium and extravasation of erythrocytes into the alveolar space of TGF-alpha mice. Hemorrhage and inflammatory cells were seen in distal air spaces at 1 mo of age. In adult TGF-alpha mice, alveolar remodeling, nodules, proteinaceous deposits, and inflammatory cells were seen. Immunostaining for pro-surfactant protein C showed that type II cells were abundant in the nodules, as well as neutrophils and macrophages. Trichrome staining showed that pulmonary fibrosis was minimal, apart from areas of nodular remodeling in adult TGF-alpha mice. Transient induction of TGF-alpha during early alveologenesis permanently disrupted lung structure and function and caused chronic lung disease.
Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol 2004 Oct
PMID:Transient induction of TGF-alpha disrupts lung morphogenesis, causing pulmonary disease in adulthood. 1535 62

Adaptation to air breathing at birth is dependent on formation and function of the lung. Lung morphogenesis is a complex process dependent on precise temporal-spatial control of cell proliferation, differentiation and behavior mediated by autocrine-paracrine signaling that instructs transcriptional processes during organogenesis. Mutations in genes causing severe, and often lethal, lung malformations include those in the sonic hedgehog, fibroblast growth factor and thyroid transcription factor-1 pathways. Mutations in genes regulating surfactant homeostasis, necessary for reduction of surface tension in the alveoli, cause lethal respiratory distress at birth or interstitial lung disease in childhood. Inherited disorders of the surfactant system that affect neonatal respiratory adaptation at birth include hereditary surfactant protein B deficiency, mutations in surfactant protein C and the ABCA3 transporter.
Hum Mol Genet 2004 Oct 01
PMID:Genetic disorders influencing lung formation and function at birth. 1535 27

Recent investigations have suggested an active role for endothelial cells in organ development, including the lung. Herein, we investigated some of the molecular mechanisms underlying normal pulmonary vascular development and their influence on epithelial branching morphogenesis. Because the lung in utero develops in a relative hypoxic environment, we first investigated the influence of low oxygen on epithelial and vascular branching morphogenesis. Two transgenic mouse models, the C101-LacZ (epithelial-LacZ marker) and the Tie2-LacZ (endothelial-LacZ marker), were used. At embryonic day 11.5, primitive lung buds were dissected and cultured at either 20 or 3% oxygen. At 24-h intervals, epithelial and endothelial LacZ gene expression was visualized by X-galactosidase staining. The rate of branching of both tissue elements was increased in explants cultured at 3% oxygen compared with 20% oxygen. Low oxygen increased expression of VEGF, but not that of the VEGF receptor (Flk-1). Expression of two crucial epithelial branching factors, fibroblast growth factor-10 and bone morphogenetic protein-4, were not affected by low oxygen. Epithelial differentiation was maintained at low oxygen as shown by surfactant protein C in situ hybridization. To explore epithelial-vascular interactions, we inhibited vascular development with antisense oligonucleotides targeted against either hypoxia inducible factor-1 alpha or VEGF. Epithelial branching morphogenesis in vitro was dramatically abrogated when pulmonary vascular development was inhibited. Collectively, the in vitro data show that a low-oxygen environment enhances branching of both distal lung epithelium and vascular tissue and that pulmonary vascular development appears to be rate limiting for epithelial branching morphogenesis.
Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol 2005 Jan
PMID:Role of oxygen and vascular development in epithelial branching morphogenesis of the developing mouse lung. 1537 93

The induction, growth, and differentiation of epithelial lung buds are regulated by the interaction of signals between the lung epithelium and its surrounding mesenchyme. Fibroblast growth factor-10 (FGF-10), which is expressed in the mesenchyme near the distal tips, and bone morphogenetic protein 4 (BMP4), which is expressed in the most distal regions of the epithelium, are important molecules in lung morphogenesis. In the present study, we used two in vitro systems to examine the induction, growth, and differentiation of lung epithelium. Transfilter cultures were used to determine the effect of diffusible factors from the distal lung mesenchyme (LgM) on epithelial branching, and FGF-10 bead cultures were used to ascertain the effect of a high local concentration of a single diffusible molecule on the epithelium. Embryonic tracheal epithelium (TrE) was induced to grow in both culture systems and to express the distal epithelial marker surfactant protein C at the tips nearest the diffusible protein source. TrE cultured on the opposite side of a filter to LgM branched in a pattern resembling intact lungs, whereas TrE cultured in apposition to an FGF-10 bead resembled a single elongating epithelial bud. Examination of the role of BMP4 on lung bud morphogenesis revealed that BMP4 signaling suppressed expression of the proximal epithelial genes Ccsp and Foxj1 in both types of culture and upregulated the expression of Sprouty 2 in TrE cultured with an FGF-10 bead. Antagonizing BMP signaling with Noggin, however, increased expression of both Ccsp and Foxj1.
Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol 2004 Dec
PMID:FGF-10 induces SP-C and Bmp4 and regulates proximal-distal patterning in embryonic tracheal epithelium. 1553 58

Genomic DNA from the mouse pulmonary surfactant protein C (SP-C) gene was analyzed in transgenic mice to identify DNA essential for alveolar type II cell-specific expression. SP-C promoter constructs extending either 13 or 4.8 kb upstream of the transcription start site directed lung-specific expression of the bacterial chloramphenicol acetyl transferase (CAT) reporter gene. In situ hybridization analysis demonstrated alveolar cell-specific expression in the lungs of adult transgenic mice, and the pattern of 4.8 SP-C-CAT expression during development paralleled that of the endogenous SP-C gene. With the use of deletion constructs, lung-specific, low-level CAT activity was detected in tissue assays of SP-C-CAT transgenic mice retaining 318 bp of the promoter. In transient and stable cell transfection experiments, the 4.8-kb SP-C promoter was 90-fold more active as a stably integrated gene. These findings indicate that 1) the 4.8-kb SP-C promoter is sufficient to direct cell-specific and developmental expression, 2) an enhancer essential for lung-specific expression maps to the proximal 318-bp promoter, and 3) the activity of the 4.8-kb SP-C promoter construct is highly dependent on its chromatin environment.
Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol 2005 Apr
PMID:The murine SP-C promoter directs type II cell-specific expression in transgenic mice. 1557 27

Insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) has been implicated in postnatal alveolar development, pulmonary fibrosis, and non-small cell lung cancer. To further investigate the role of IGF-I, we created a line of transgenic mice in which alveolar type II epithelial cells express human IGF-IA under the control of the surfactant protein C promoter. We determined the effect of pulmonary overexpression of human IGF-IA on 1) pulmonary inflammation and fibrosis in response to intratracheal instillation of bleomycin, 2) premalignant pulmonary adenomatous hyperplasia, and 3) adenoma formation. Transgenic expression of human IGF-IA had no effect on baseline gross lung pathology, cellularity of bronchoalveolar lavage, or total lung collagen content. In addition, there were no significant differences between transgenic mice and nontransgenic littermate controls in the development of pulmonary inflammation or pulmonary fibrosis in response to intratracheal bleomycin instillation. However, pulmonary expression of human IGF-IA in older mice (>12 mo) significantly increased the incidence of premalignant adenomatous hyperplastic lesions compared with littermate controls without affecting adenoma formation. These findings suggest that increased expression of human IGF-IA in alveolar air spaces does not affect the development of pulmonary fibrosis but promotes premalignant changes in the alveolar epithelium.
Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol 2005 May
PMID:Human insulin-like growth factor-IA expression in transgenic mice promotes adenomatous hyperplasia but not pulmonary fibrosis. 1582 Oct 20

It is well established that exposure to high levels of oxygen (hyperoxia) injures and kills microvascular endothelial and alveolar type I epithelial cells. In contrast, significant death of airway and type II epithelial cells is not observed at mortality, suggesting that these cell types may express genes that protect against oxidative stress and damage. During a search for genes induced by hyperoxia, we previously reported that airway and alveolar type II epithelial cells uniquely express the growth arrest and DNA damage (Gadd)45a gene. Because Gadd45a has been implicated in protection against genotoxic stress, adult Gadd45a (+/+) and Gadd45a (-/-) mice were exposed to hyperoxia to investigate whether it protected epithelial cells against oxidative stress. During hyperoxia, Gadd45a deficiency did not affect loss of airway epithelial expression of Clara cell secretory protein or type II epithelial cell expression of pro-surfactant protein C. Likewise, Gadd45a deficiency did not alter recruitment of inflammatory cells, edema, or overall mortality. Consistent with Gadd45a not affecting the oxidative stress response, p21(Cip1/WAF1) and heme oxygenase-1 were comparably induced in Gadd45a (+/+) and Gadd45a (-/-) mice. Additionally, Gadd45a deficiency did not affect oxidative DNA damage or apoptosis as assessed by oxidized guanine and terminal deoxyneucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling staining. Overexpression of Gadd45a in human lung adenocarcinoma cells did not affect viability or survival during exposure, whereas it was protective against UV-radiation. We conclude that increased tolerance of airway and type II epithelial cells to hyperoxia is not attributed solely to expression of Gadd45a.
Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol 2005 Apr
PMID:Loss of Gadd45a does not modify the pulmonary response to oxidative stress. 1565 12


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