scholarly journals Pulmonary neuroendocrine cells: physiology, tissue homeostasis and disease

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. dmm046920
Author(s):  
Masafumi Noguchi ◽  
Kana T. Furukawa ◽  
Mitsuru Morimoto

ABSTRACTMammalian lungs have the ability to recognize external environments by sensing different compounds in inhaled air. Pulmonary neuroendocrine cells (PNECs) are rare, multi-functional epithelial cells currently garnering attention as intrapulmonary sensors; PNECs can detect hypoxic conditions through chemoreception. Because PNEC overactivation has been reported in patients suffering from respiratory diseases – such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, bronchopulmonary dysplasia and other congenital diseases – an improved understanding of the fundamental characteristics of PNECs is becoming crucial in pulmonary biology and pathology. During the past decade, murine genetics and disease models revealed the involvement of PNECs in lung ventilation dynamics, mechanosensing and the type 2 immune responses. Single-cell RNA sequencing further unveiled heterogeneous gene expression profiles in the PNEC population and revealed that a small number of PNECs undergo reprogramming during regeneration. Aberrant large clusters of PNECs have been observed in neuroendocrine tumors, including small-cell lung cancer (SCLC). Modern innovation of imaging analyses has enabled the discovery of dynamic migratory behaviors of PNECs during airway development, perhaps relating to SCLC malignancy. This Review summarizes the findings from research on PNECs, along with novel knowledge about their function. In addition, it thoroughly addresses the relevant questions concerning the molecular pathology of pulmonary diseases and related therapeutic approaches.

BMJ Open ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 2 (6) ◽  
pp. e001553 ◽  
Author(s):  
Naoya Fujino ◽  
Chiharu Ota ◽  
Toru Takahashi ◽  
Takaya Suzuki ◽  
Satoshi Suzuki ◽  
...  

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana B. Villaseñor-Altamirano ◽  
Marco Moretto ◽  
Alejandra Zayas-Del Moral ◽  
Mariel Maldonado ◽  
Adrián Munguía-Reyes ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTChronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) have contrasting clinical and pathological characteristics, and interesting whole-genome transcriptomic profiles. However, data from public repositories are difficult to reprocess and reanalyze. Here we present PulmonDB, a web-based database (http://pulmondb.liigh.unam.mx/) and R library that facilitates exploration of gene expression profiles for these diseases by integrating transcriptomic data and curated annotation from different sources. We demonstrated the value of this resource by presenting the expression of already well-known genes of COPD and IPF across multiple experiments and the results of two differential expression analyses in which we successfully identified differences and similarities. With this first version of PulmonDB, we create a new hypothesis and compare the two diseases from a transcriptomics perspective.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
Peter Walentek

Mucociliary epithelia are composed of multiciliated, secretory, and stem cells and line various organs in vertebrates such as the respiratory tract. By means of mucociliary clearance, those epithelia provide a first line of defense against inhaled particles and pathogens. Mucociliary clearance relies on the correct composition of cell types, that is, the proper balance of ciliated and secretory cells. A failure to generate and to maintain correct cell type composition and function results in impaired clearance and high risk to infections, such as in congenital diseases (e.g., ciliopathies) as well as in acquired diseases, including asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). While it remains incompletely resolved how precisely cell types are specified and maintained in development and disease, many studies have revealed important mechanisms regarding the signaling control in mucociliary cell types in various species. Those studies not only provided insights into the signaling contribution to organ development and regeneration but also highlighted the remarkable plasticity of cell identity encountered in mucociliary maintenance, including frequent trans-differentiation events during homeostasis and specifically in disease. This review will summarize major findings and provide perspectives regarding the future of mucociliary research and the treatment of chronic airway diseases associated with tissue remodeling.


Cancers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 2809
Author(s):  
Paolo Uva ◽  
Maria Carla Bosco ◽  
Alessandra Eva ◽  
Massimo Conte ◽  
Alberto Garaventa ◽  
...  

Neuroblastoma (NB) is one of the deadliest pediatric cancers, accounting for 15% of deaths in childhood. Hypoxia is a condition of low oxygen tension occurring in solid tumors and has an unfavorable prognostic factor for NB. In the present study, we aimed to identify novel promising drugs for NB treatment. Connectivity Map (CMap), an online resource for drug repurposing, was used to identify connections between hypoxia-modulated genes in NB tumors and compounds. Two sets of 34 and 21 genes up- and down-regulated between hypoxic and normoxic primary NB tumors, respectively, were analyzed with CMap. The analysis reported a significant negative connectivity score across nine cell lines for 19 compounds mainly belonging to the class of PI3K/Akt/mTOR inhibitors. The gene expression profiles of NB cells cultured under hypoxic conditions and treated with the mTORC complex inhibitor PP242, referred to as the Mohlin dataset, was used to validate the CMap findings. A heat map representation of hypoxia-modulated genes in the Mohlin dataset and the gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) showed an opposite regulation of these genes in the set of NB cells treated with the mTORC inhibitor PP242. In conclusion, our analysis identified inhibitors of the PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway as novel candidate compounds to treat NB patients with hypoxic tumors and a poor prognosis.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sakiko Masuda ◽  
Kurumi Kato ◽  
Misato Ishibashi ◽  
Yuka Nishibata ◽  
Ayako Sugimoto ◽  
...  

Abstract When patients with preexisting lung diseases, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, interstitial pneumonitis, and pulmonary arterial hypertension, develop pneumonia, the complication often exacerbates the underlying diseases. Although neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) are important components of innate immune system, the residue of NETs in the tissue can harm the host. We examined the expression of hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF-1α) and NETs in the lungs of patients with lung diseases complicated with pneumonia, and investigated the properties of NETs generated under hypoxia. This study demonstrated that the amount of NETs in pulmonary lesions was greater in patients with pneumonia than in patients without pneumonia and displayed a positive correlation between the amount of NETs and HIF-1α expression. We further demonstrated that the formation of typical lytic NETs was suppressed and round-shaped NETs were generated under hypoxic conditions in vitro. These round NETs were resistant to digestion by the principal NET regulator, DNase I. Focusing on actin rearrangement in neutrophils stimulated under hypoxic conditions, we found that G-actin polymerization and F-actin degradation—both of which are observed time-dependently under normoxic conditions—were disrupted, suggesting that hypoxia mediated the incomplete NET formation. Moreover, neutrophils stimulated under hypoxic conditions possessed cytotoxicity. Accumulation of neutrophils that form degradation-resistant NETs and possess cytotoxicity, which are generated under hypoxic circumstances, are expected to be involved in exacerbation of underlying lung diseases complicated with pneumonia.


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