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Specific ablation of the nidogen-binding site in the laminin gamma1 chain interferes with kidney and lung development.

Basement membrane assembly is of crucial importance in the development and function of tissues and during embryogenesis. Nidogen 1 was thought to be central in the assembly processes, connecting the networks formed by collagen type IV and laminins, however, targeted inactivation of nidogen 1 resulted in no obvious phenotype. We have now selectively deleted the sequence coding for the 56 amino acid nidogen-binding site, gamma1III4, within the Lamc1 gene by gene targeting. Here, we show that mice homozygous for the deletion die immediately after birth, showing renal agenesis and impaired lung development. These developmental defects were attributed to locally restricted ruptures in the basement membrane of the elongating Wolffian duct and of alveolar sacculi. These data demonstrate that an interaction between two basement membrane proteins is required for early kidney morphogenesis in vivo.

Animals↗

Morphine administration to pregnant rabbits: effect on fetal growth and lung development.

Morphine was injected subcutaneously in doses of 2.5 to 10 mg/kg every 6 hours into pregnant rabbits from early pregnancy until delivery by hysterotomy on the 27th, 28th or 29th day. Pregnant control animals received 0.9% NaC1 injections. Abortions occurred in 34% of the morphine-treated does as a doserelated effect and in 6.5% of the controls. In preserved pregnancies the prevalence of intrauterine death was identical in both samples. Fetuses of treated animals weighed significantly less than those of the controls.However, the normally present effect of intrauterine position on fetal growth was not altered in fetuses of treated animals, so that growth-retarded as well as normal fetuses weighed more when located in the ovarium rather than the cervical portion of the uterus. The fetal lungs were inflated to 35 cm H2O and the remaining air at a deflation pressure of 10 cm H2O (V10) was determined as a measure of lung stability. There were no differences in this indicator of fetal lung maturity between fetuses of treated and control animals. It was found that the lecithin/sphingomyelin (L/S) ratio in the amniotic fluid of rabbits does not correlate with lung maturity; there were no differences between fetuses of treated and control animals. Morphine, when administered to pregnant rabbits does not accelerate fetal lung development. Therefore, the observed reduction in the incidence of respiratory distress syndrome in infants of heroin-addicted women has no direct equivalent in this animal model.

Abortion, Spontaneous↗

Three alternative promoters of the rat gamma-glutamyl transferase gene are active in developing lung and are differentially regulated by oxygen after birth.

The rat gamma-glutamyl transferase mRNA transcripts I, II, and III are derived from three alternative promoters, P(I), P(II), and P(III). In the adult only mRNA III is expressed in the lung. We show that mRNA III gene expression is developmentally regulated in the fetal lung; it is first expressed in gestation. In contrast to the adult lung, the fetal lung expresses mRNA I, II, and III. The switch from the fetal to the adult pattern of gammaGT mRNA expression begins within the first 24 h of birth and is complete by 10 d of age. gammaGT mRNA II disappears within 24 h, mRNA I disappears by 10 d leaving mRNA III as the sole transcript. Alveolar epithelial type 2 cells (AT2) isolated from the adult lung express only mRNA III. When cultured in 21% O2 mRNA III is maintained, but when cultured in 3% O2 the fetal pattern of mRNA I, II and III expression is induced. When AT2 cells in hypoxia are exposed to carbon monoxide, mRNA II is suppressed suggesting that a heme-binding protein (responsive to oxygen) may suppress mRNA II expression and may be responsible for the decrease in lung mRNA II seen after birth. A reporter gene under the control of DNA sequences from the gammaGT P(III) promoter is activated in transient transfection studies in response to hyperoxia, while a deletion construct retaining an antioxidant responsive element is not. Oxygen appears to regulate each of the alternative promoters of the gammaGT gene, such that P(II) is rapidly repressed by a heme-dependent mechanism, P(I), is more gradually repressed by a nonheme mechanism and P(III) is activated by a putative oxygen response element. We hypothesize that similar oxygen-dependent mechanisms regulate other genes in the developing lung at birth.

Animals↗

Fog2 is required for normal diaphragm and lung development in mice and humans.

Congenital diaphragmatic hernia and other congenital diaphragmatic defects are associated with significant mortality and morbidity in neonates; however, the molecular basis of these developmental anomalies is unknown. In an analysis of E18.5 embryos derived from mice treated with N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea, we identified a mutation that causes pulmonary hypoplasia and abnormal diaphragmatic development. Fog2 (Zfpm2) maps within the recombinant interval carrying the N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea-induced mutation, and DNA sequencing of Fog2 identified a mutation in a splice donor site that generates an abnormal transcript encoding a truncated protein. Human autopsy cases with diaphragmatic defect and pulmonary hypoplasia were evaluated for mutations in FOG2. Sequence analysis revealed a de novo mutation resulting in a premature stop codon in a child who died on the first day of life secondary to severe bilateral pulmonary hypoplasia and an abnormally muscularized diaphragm. Using a phenotype-driven approach, we have established that Fog2 is required for normal diaphragm and lung development, a role that has not been previously appreciated. FOG2 is the first gene implicated in the pathogenesis of nonsyndromic human congenital diaphragmatic defects, and its necessity for pulmonary development validates the hypothesis that neonates with congenital diaphragmatic hernia may also have primary pulmonary developmental abnormalities.

Journal Article↗

CXCR4 and VEGF expression in the primary site and the metastatic site of human osteosarcoma: analysis within a group of patients, all of whom developed lung metastasis.

The chemokine, CXCL12, and its receptor, CXCR4, have recently been shown to play an important role in metastasis of several kinds of carcinoma. It has also been demonstrated that VEGF regulates both the expression of CXCR4 and invasiveness in breast cancer cell lines. We compared the immunohistochemical expression of CXCR4 and VEGF between the primary site and a concordant pulmonary metastatic site in 30 osteosarcoma patients, all of which had undergone thoracotomy. Microvessel density (MVD) as shown by immunostaining of CD34 and proliferative activity with MIB-1 monoclonal antibody was also evaluated. CXCR4 expression (primary, 33.3% positive vs metastatic, 66.6% positive; P = 0.0097) and MVD (primary, 29.86 +/- 6.87/0.26 mm2 vs metastatic, 43.32 +/- 8.65/0.26 mm2; P = 0.0015) in the metastatic site were both significantly increased compared with those in the primary site, whereas no difference between primary and metastatic sites was observed with regard to VEGF expression. There was a significant positive correlation between immunohistochemical CXCR4 and VEGF expression (P = 0.0269). In total population, the MIB-1-labeling index (LI) was significantly higher in tumors, which showed immunoreactivity for VEGF (MIB-1-LI in VEGF-positive tumors, 24.29 +/- 5.4 vs VEGF-negative tumors, 18.33 +/- 4.16; P = 0.034). Furthermore, those patients with VEGF-positive primary tumors had a significantly worse prognosis compared with the patients with VEGF-negative primary tumors (P = 0.0053). Our results suggested that CXCR4 expression was associated with metastatic progression, and immunohistochemical VEGF expression in the primary site had predictive value for the osteosarcoma patients, who developed lung metastasis.

Adolescent↗

Lung development is not necessary for diaphragm development in mice.

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: Congenital diaphragmatic hernia affects approximately 1 in every 2000 live births. The etiology of these diaphragmatic defects is unknown. Using mice with a targeted deletion of fibroblast growth factor 10 (FGF10), which display a complete lack of lung tissue, we have examined the relationship between lung hypoplasia and diaphragmatic development. METHODS: The diaphragms of FGF10 null mice were examined at 2 embryonic time-points and compared with their heterozygous and wild-type littermates. RESULTS: FGF10 null mice had phenotypically normal diaphragms when compared with wild-type littermates at both time-points studied. CONCLUSION: Normal diaphragm development appears to occur independent of lung development in mice.

Animals↗

Glycosidases during chick embryo lung development and their colocalization with proteoglycans and growth factors.

During development, the epithelial component of the lung goes through a complex orderly process of branching, following strict patterns of space and time. Proteoglycans, glycosaminoglycans and growth factors are fundamental components of the extracellular matrix and perform a key role in differentiative processes. The embryonic chick lung shows a specific glycosaminoglycan composition at different levels of branching and at different embryonic stages. Proteoglycan and glycosaminoglycan accumulation is the result of secretion, absorption and degradation processes. In this pathway, enzymes, such as glycosidases, growth factors and cytokines are involved. We examined the behaviour of glycosidases, such as beta-hexosaminidases (beta-N-acetyl-D-glucosaminidase, beta-N-acetyl-D-galactosaminidase), beta-glucuronidase and beta-galactosidase, during the development of the lung bud. Our data show that the activity of the enzymes is closely linked to the processes of epithelial proliferation, bronchial tubule lengthening and infiltration of the surrounding mesenchyme. The glycosaminoglycans colocalize with transforming growth factor beta2 and interleukin-1 in the basement membrane and in the mesenchymal areas where the epithelium grows, and are complementary to the presence of the glycosidases. In conclusion, the activity of these glycosidases is spatially and temporally programmed and favors the release of the factors and the events which they influence.

Animals↗

Expression of a calmodulin inhibitor peptide in progenitor alveolar type II cells disrupts lung development.

Calmodulin (CaM) is a major intracellular Ca2+ mediator protein involved in cell growth and differentiation. To evaluate calmodulin function in lung, it was necessary to construct a gene that encodes a high-affinity calmodulin binding peptide, since chemically synthesized calmodulin inhibitors lack binding and targeting specificity. This calmodulin inhibitor peptide gene was targeted to type II epithelial cells in transgenic mice using the human surfactant protein C promoter. Neutralization of calmodulin function in progenitor type II epithelial pneumocytes alters epithelial cell growth and differentiation, which prevents branching morphogenesis of the bronchial tree. Newborn transgenic animals have undeveloped lungs. This study indicates that type II lung epithelial cells require functional CaM for proliferation and development. The targeting of specific inhibitor peptides to a single lung cell type is an approach to evaluate the role of calmodulin, the ubiquitous calcium-dependent regulator protein, in lung development and disease.

Animals↗

Effects of hormones on fetal lung development.

Endogenous hormones, such as glucocorticoids, play a major role in the development of the fetal lung. Considerable effort has been devoted to defining the underlying physiology and the clinical effects of administration of antenatal glucocorticoids to women who are at risk of premature delivery. Antenatal glucocorticoids have significant therapeutic benefits to the neonate with respect to the respiratory distress syndrome, intraventricular hemorrhage, and mortality. Current controversies relate to the choice of glucocorticoid, optimal dosing regime, number of courses of therapy that should be administered, and, most importantly, potential toxicities.

Clinical Trials as Topic↗

Physiology and pathophysiology of lung development.

Over the past few years, there has been a considerable improvement in our understanding of the normal development of the fetal lung and its regulation. These advances have occurred mostly through increased knowledge of molecular biological mechanisms of growth and differentiation. These advances have also resulted in an improvement in our comprehension of the pathological basis of various pulmonary diseases. As a result of this new and improved knowledge, new and innovative therapeutic modalities are being introduced into clinical practice. The introduction of surfactant therapy into the clinical setting was one such milestone in neonatal respiratory management. Pulmonary surfactant is responsible for stabilising alveoli during normal respiration, thereby preventing atelectasis or alveolar flooding. Disease processes which result in an insufficiency in surfactant, such as respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) or congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH), generally carry a very high mortality rate. Exogenous surfactant administration reduces both the mortality and morbidity associated with RDS and its sequelae, and its efficacy in the treatment of CDH is now being evaluated clinically. Moreover, laboratory studies suggest that surfactant therapy may be used in combination with other treatments, such as tracheal occlusion to promote lung growth in CDH, in order to achieve a maximal effect in these complex, multifactorial lung diseases.

Journal Article↗

The evolutionary continuum from lung development to homeostasis and repair.

A functional, developmental, and comparative biological approach is probably the most effective way for arranging gene regulatory networks (GRNs) in their biological contexts. Evolutionary developmental biology allows comparison of GRNs during development across phyla. For lung evolution, the parathyroid hormone-related protein (PTHrP) GRN exemplifies a continuum from ontogeny to phylogeny, homeostasis, and repair. PTHrP signaling between the lung endoderm and mesoderm stimulates lipofibroblast differentiation by downregulating the myofibroblast Wnt signaling pathway and upregulating the protein kinase A-dependent cAMP signaling pathway, inducing the lipofibroblast phenotype. Leptin secreted by the lipofibroblast, in turn, binds to its receptor on the alveolar type II cell, stimulating surfactant synthesis to ensure alveolar homeostasis. Failure of the PTHrP/PTHrP receptor signaling mechanism causes transdifferentiation of lipofibroblasts to myofibroblasts, which are the hallmark for lung fibrosis. We have shown that by targeting peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma, the downstream target for lipofibroblast PTHrP signaling, we can prevent lung fibrosis. We speculate that the recapitulation of the myofibroblast phenotype during transdifferentiation is consistent with lung injury as lung evolution in reverse. Repair recapitulates ontogeny because it is programmed to express the cross talk between epithelium and mesoderm through evolution. This model demonstrates how epithelial-mesenchymal cross talk, when seen as a recapitulation of ontogeny and phylogeny (in both a forward and reverse direction), predicts novel, effective diagnostic and therapeutic targets.

Animals↗

Risk factors for the degradation of lung elastic fibers in the ventilated neonate. Implications for impaired lung development in bronchopulmonary dysplasia.

In order to evaluate the risk for proteolytic destruction of lung parenchymal elastic fibers in ventilated premature infants, the concentrations of elastase were determined in tracheal aspirates of 65 infants from whom we obtained a total of 327 sequential samples. Elastase was detected at least once in 39 of the 65 infants studied. Eleven of these infants were ventilated with greater than 60% oxygen for greater than 5 days. In 19 infants, the presence of elastase was associated with positive bacterial and/or viral cultures and/or elevated ratios (greater than 0.22) of immature neutrophils to total neutrophils. Elastase was not detected in the lung secretions of 26 infants ventilated with greater than 60% oxygen for less than 3 days, suggesting minimal risk for elastic fiber destruction in the intubated infant who neither has pneumonia nor requires prolonged hyperoxic ventilation. The risk for elastic fiber destruction was further evaluated by analyzing sequential urine and tracheal aspirate samples for the presence of an elastolytic degradation product of elastin (desmosine). The biochemical data indicated a potential risk for proteolytic destruction of elastic fibers in association with infection and/or prolonged hyperoxic exposure. In addition, autopsy specimens obtained from three of the infants revealed structurally abnormal lung parenchymal elastic fibers. Because elastic fibers are believed to provide the structural support for alveolar septal development, proteolytic degradation of these fibers may be a significant factor in the impaired lung development that occurs in infants with bronchopulmonary dysplasia.

Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia↗

Retinoic acid induces changes in the pattern of airway branching and alters epithelial cell differentiation in the developing lung in vitro.

Retinoids have been shown to influence pattern formation during development and regeneration in numerous systems such as limbs, vertebrae, and neural tube although there is little information about the effects of retinoids on pattern formation in visceral organs. We investigated the effects of exogenous retinoic acid on the in vitro pattern of airway branching and on lung epithelial cell differentiation. Histology, [3H]thymidine autoradiographies and reverse transcriptase/polymerase chain reaction (RT/PCR) amplification were used to assess the effects of retinoids and the expression of lung epithelial markers of differentiation. We found that retinoic acid interferes, in a dose-dependent fashion, with the expression of epithelial genes that are found in distal segments of the fetal lung (surfactant-associated proteins SP-A, SP-B, and SP-C). At high concentrations, retinoic acid (RA) dramatically altered the developmental pattern of the lung, favoring growth of structures that resemble proximal airways and concomitantly suppressing distal epithelial buds. We hypothesize that this in vitro "proximalizing" effect on the developing lung may be related to alterations in the expression of pattern-related genes.

Animals↗

Human glutathione S-transferases: radioimmunoassay studies on the expression of alpha-, mu- and pi-class isoenzymes in developing lung and kidney.

The developmental expression of the alpha-, mu- and pi-class glutathione S-transferases has been defined in human lung and kidney using radioimmunoassay, immunohistochemistry and column chromatography. Expression of alpha-class enzymes increased significantly after about 40 weeks gestation in kidney but not lung, while expression of mu isoenzymes was continuous throughout development in both tissues. Expression of the pi isoenzyme fell during in utero ontogeny in lung, the pattern of down-regulation being similar to that previously observed in liver. There was no change in the expression of this isoenzyme in kidney. Comparison of the expression of the glutathione S-transferases in developing lung, kidney and liver shows some common patterns of expression suggesting these genes are under similar regulatory control.

Down-Regulation↗