BBB seminar: Magnus Nord
C/EBP transcription factors in lung: Roles in development and pathophysiology
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Magnus Nord
Department of Medical Nutrition, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
During the last years, we have studied the roles of CCAAT/enhancer binding proteins (C/EBPs) in lung development, physiology and pathology: In the lung epithelium C/EBPα, β and δ are expressed. Here, C/EBPα regulates differentiation-dependent gene expression as well as proliferation, and has a specific function in late branching morphogenesis of the developing lung. In addition to a partially overlapping role in regulating differentiation-dependent gene expression, C/EBPβ and δ also mediate effects of glucocorticoids in the lung epithelium. Moreover, C/EBPβ and δ are involved in responses to lung injury, and activate inflammatory and protective genes, and recently obtained clinical results suggest that C/EBPβ and δ have a role in the pathophysiology of chronic bronchitis and COPD.
| Magnus Nord (MD, PhD) has a long-standing interest in the molecular pathways involved in the development and function of the lung. During his initial work he focused on the regulation and function of the CCCP10 protein in Clara cells of the lung. In recent years, his main focus has been on the role of various transcription factors that are required for proper development of the lung. At the seminar, Dr. Nord will present recent data demonstrating multiple roles of the C/EBP group of transcription factors in differentiation, proliferation and branching of lung tissue during development. He will also present clinical results that suggest an involvement of C/EBPβ and δ in the pathophysiology of chronic bronchitis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). |