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Post by John on Sept 20, 2017 8:40:15 GMT -5
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New lung cell type discovered
Discovery may lead to the development of new therapies to fight pneumonia
Date:
September 18, 2017
Source:
Boston University School of Medicine
Summary:
A new lung cell type that is implicated in the body's innate immune defense against the bacteria Streptococcus pneumoniae -- one of the leading causes of pneumonia worldwide -- has been discovered by researchers.
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FULL STORY
A recent study has identified a new lung cell type that is implicated in the body's innate immune defense against the bacteria Streptococcus pneumoniae -- one of the leading causes of pneumonia worldwide.
The findings, which appear in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, may lead to new, non-traditional approaches in the fight against pneumonia and chronic lung diseases.
There are two classifications of cells in the human body: germ cells that are used to make sperm and eggs and somatic cells that make up every other cell in the body including lung cells. There are widespread differences between germ cells and somatic cells underscoring their markedly different roles in human biology. It was previously thought that the MIWI2 gene was only expressed in male germ cells as part of a family of genes that ensure the proper development of sperm. However, researchers at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have discovered that not only is the same gene expressed in somatic cells in the body, but also marks a distinct population of multi-ciliated cells that line the upper airways of the lung.
"These ciliated cells have hair-like projections that function to sweep mucous and other foreign material out of the lung. However, what sets this new population of ciliated cells apart is that they express the MIWI2 protein and in this report, were found to have a specialized role in controlling lung infection," explains corresponding author Matthew Jones, PhD, assistant professor of medicine at BUSM.
"Pneumonia is a world-wide public health burden and a leading cause of death from infection. Together with the increasing prevalence of antibiotic resistant strains of bacteria it is now more critical than ever to develop new methods for combating this pathogen. It is our hope that we can leverage these molecular insights to develop novel therapeutic strategies," added Jones.
According to the researchers, the new cell type and pattern of gene expression may also lead to a better understanding of the mechanisms behind diseases like COPD and asthma -- inflammatory conditions that involve changes in the airway cellular composition. The authors are hopeful next steps will lead to new ways of investigating how the body reacts to infectious bacteria in the lung.
Story Source:
Materials provided by Boston University School of Medicine. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.
Journal Reference:
Gregory A. Wasserman, Aleksander D. Szymaniak, Anne C. Hinds, Kazuko Yamamoto, Hirofumi Kamata, Nicole M.S. Smith, Kristie L. Hilliard, Claudia Carrieri, Adam T. Labadorf, Lee J. Quinton, Xingbin Ai, Xaralabos Varelas, Felicia Chen, Joseph P. Mizgerd, Alan Fine, Dónal O’Carroll, Matthew R. Jones. Expression of Piwi protein MIWI2 defines a distinct population of multiciliated cells. Journal of Clinical Investigation, 2017; DOI: 10.1172/JCI94639
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Boston University School of Medicine. "New lung cell type discovered: Discovery may lead to the development of new therapies to fight pneumonia." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 18 September 2017. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/09/170918163424.htm>.
RELATED TOPICS
Health & Medicine
Lung Disease
Lung Cancer
Stem Cells
Diseases and Conditions
Immune System
COPD
Lymphoma
Infectious Diseases
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RELATED TERMS
Pneumonia
T cell
Streptococcus
Antibiotic resistance
Natural killer cell
Immune system
Bacteria
Lung cancer
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Post by gerald on Sept 20, 2017 22:56:02 GMT -5
Thanx for posting that John. It is good to seem them uderstanding more and more about how the lungs are actually constructed,
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