The secretory epithelium protects the lungs from inhaled pathogens and other environmental insults that can lead to debilitating diseases, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, by producing mucus. The epithelium contains several cell types, including secretory Clara cells and goblet cells, but the control of these cell fates during lung development and regeneration is poorly understood. Here (p. 2500), Edward Morrisey and colleagues report that the transcription factors Foxp1 and Foxp4 (Foxp1/4) control epithelial cell fate during both of these processes in mice. Loss of Foxp1/4 in the developing lung ectopically activates the goblet cell fate program, they show. Consistent with this finding, Foxp1/4 repress key factors in the goblet cell differentiation program, including anterior gradient 2 (Agr2), overexpression of which promotes the goblet cell fate in developing airway epithelium. Moreover, Foxp1/4 also restrict secretory and goblet cell differentiation during lung regeneration. Thus, by restricting cell fate choices during development and regeneration, Foxp1/4 generate the proper balance of functional epithelial lineages in the lung.
Foxp1/4 restrict secretory cell fates
Foxp1/4 restrict secretory cell fates. Development 15 July 2012; 139 (14): e1404. doi:
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