American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine
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Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. · Mar 2012
Critical role of the axonal guidance cue EphrinB2 in lung growth, angiogenesis, and repair.
Lung diseases characterized by alveolar damage currently lack efficient treatments. The mechanisms contributing to normal and impaired alveolar growth and repair are incompletely understood. Axonal guidance cues (AGC) are molecules that guide the outgrowth of axons to their targets. Among these AGCs, members of the Ephrin family also promote angiogenesis, cell migration, and organogenesis outside the nervous system. The role of Ephrins during alveolar growth and repair is unknown. ⋯ The AGC EphrinB2 may be a new therapeutic target for lung repair and pulmonary hypertension.
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Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. · Mar 2012
Surfactant protein-D regulates effector cell function and fibrotic lung remodeling in response to bleomycin injury.
Surfactant protein (SP)-D and SP-A have been implicated in immunomodulation in the lung. It has been reported that patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) often have elevated serum levels of SP-A and SP-D, although their role in the disease is not known. ⋯ These data suggest that alveolar SP-D regulates numbers of macrophages and fibrocytes in the lungs, profibrotic cytokine expression, and fibrotic lung remodeling in response to BLM injury.