Lung Development

Sarah Malpel, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Wellington V Cardoso, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Published online: April 2001

DOI: 10.1038/npg.els.0003307

Lung morphogenesis and differentiation result from activation of a complex network of signalling molecules in epithelial and mesenchymal cells. Regional expression of these signals along the developing respiratory system determines the pattern of branching of the airways and the appearance of the distinct cell types that characterize the tracheobronchial tree and the alveoli.

Keywords: lung; branching morphogenesis; epithelial–mesenchymal interactions; growth factors

Figure 1. Stages of lung development based on histologic criteria. Boxes represent relative duration of each stage in humans and mice. Differences in timing and duration of these stages are depicted (see text for further explanations). d, day; PN, postnatal; w, week; y, years.
Figure 2. Representation of the embryonic mouse lung at the onset of lung development (E9.5–10), during branching morphogenesis (E11–12), and around birth (E18). The respiratory tract primordium consists of the primitive trachea and two primary bronchi. Once primary bronchi start to branch, asymmetry becomes evident; left and right lung form one and four lobes respectively. Regulators of pattern formation are represented at E11–12 in the epithelium (white) and in the mesenchyme (red). Proximal (HFH-4, CC-10) and distal (SP-A, -B, -C) markers of differentiation are represented at day 18. SP-A and -B will be restricted to the distal lung only postnatally.
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    Hogan BL (1999) Morphogenesis. Cell 96(2): 225–233.
    Ornitz DM (2000) FGFs, heparan sulfate and FGFRs: complex interactions essential for development. Bioessays 22: 108–112.
    Sannes PL and Wang J (1997) Basement membranes and pulmonary development. Experimental Lung Research 23(2): 101–108.
    book University of Edinburgh Department of Biomedical Sciences (1997) Database: Lung Branching Morphogenesis. [http://www.ana.ed.ac.uk/anatomy/database/lungbase/lunghome.html]
    Weaver M, Yingling JM, Dunn NR, Bellusci S and Hogan BL (1999) Bmp signaling regulates proximal-distal differentiation of endoderm in mouse lung development. Development 126(18): 4005–4015.
    Weinstein M, Xu X, Ohyama K and Deng CX (1998) FGFR-3 and FGFR-4 function cooperatively to direct alveogenesis in the murine lung. Development 125(18): 3615–3623.

Related Sub-Topics:

Genes, Molecules and Cellular Processes | Organogenesis
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Article Title: Lung Development
 
How to Cite close
Malpel, Sarah, and Cardoso, Wellington V(Apr 2001) Lung Development. In: eLS. John Wiley & Sons Ltd, Chichester. http://www.els.net [doi: 10.1038/npg.els.0003307]