Source: Duke University
Date: June 16, 2011
Summary:
Researchers at Duke University Medical Center have found out how mouse basal cells that line airways “decide” to become one of two types of cells that assist in airway-clearing duties. The findings could help provide new therapies for either blocked or thinned airways.
“Our work has identified the Notch signaling pathway as a central regulatory ‘switch’ that controls the differentiation of airway basal stem cells,” said Jason Rock, PhD, lead author and postdoctoral researcher in Brigid Hogan's cell biology laboratory.
“Studies like ours will enhance efforts to develop effective genetic, cellular, and molecular therapies for airway diseases -- a leading cause of death worldwide.”
The work was published in Cell Stem Cell on June 3.
Together with the current findings, recent studies suggest that the Notch signaling pathway represents a potential therapeutic target for airway remodeling and lung disease, he said.
