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Patterning and plasticity in development of the respiratory lineage
Author(s) -
Domyan Eric T.,
Sun Xin
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
developmental dynamics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.634
H-Index - 141
eISSN - 1097-0177
pISSN - 1058-8388
DOI - 10.1002/dvdy.22504
Subject(s) - biology , lineage (genetic) , plasticity , evolutionary biology , respiratory system , microbiology and biotechnology , computational biology , genetics , anatomy , gene , physics , thermodynamics
Abstract The mammalian respiratory lineage, consisting of the trachea and lung, originates from the ventral foregut in an early embryo. Reciprocal signaling interactions between the foregut epithelium and its associated mesenchyme guide development of the respiratory endoderm, from a naive sheet of cells to multiple cell types that line a functional organ. This review synthesizes current understanding of the early events in respiratory system development, focusing on three main topics: (1) specification of the respiratory system as a distinct organ of the endoderm, (2) patterning and differentiation of the nascent respiratory epithelium along its proximal–distal axis, and (3) plasticity of the respiratory cells during the process of development. This review also highlights areas in need of further study, including determining how early endoderm cells rapidly switch their responses to the same signaling cues during development, and how the general proximal–distal pattern of the lung is converted to fine‐scale organization of multiple cell types along this axis. Developmental Dynamics 240:477–485, 2011. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.