| First Author | Sugahara K | Year | 2001 |
| Journal | Cell Tissue Res | Volume | 306 |
| Issue | 1 | Pages | 57-63 |
| PubMed ID | 11683182 | Mgi Jnum | J:105087 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:3613412 | Doi | 10.1007/s004410100420 |
| Citation | Sugahara K, et al. (2001) Mice lacking CCAAt/enhancer-binding protein-alpha show hyperproliferation of alveolar type II cells and increased surfactant protein mRNAs. Cell Tissue Res 306(1):57-63 |
| abstractText | The lung-specific surfactant proteins (SP) are essential for normal respiratory function. Transcription factors may play an important role in the regulation of surfactant proteins. The CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein (C/EBP) family consists of transcription factors that can stimulate expression of genes in lipid-metabolizing epithelial cells. C/EBPalpha-deficient mice have been shown to exhibit abnormal pulmonary histopathology. Recently, we demonstrated that C/EBP family members are differentially expressed in alveolar type II cell proliferation and in pulmonary fibrosis. In the present study, to investigate whether the C/EBP family would be involved in the regulation of surfactant proteins, we examined the protein expression of SP-A, and SP-C, and mRNA expression of SP-A, SP-B, and SP-C in the lungs from newborn C/EBPalpha-deficient mice. Using immunohistochemistry, we demonstrated that positive cells for SP-C, specific to alveolar type II cells, in the lungs were more abundant in the newborn C/EBPalpha-deficient mice than in control mice, which suggests the hyperproliferation of alveolar type II cells in the lungs of the C/EBPalpha-deficient mice. In situ hybridization analysis revealed that expression of SP-A, SP-B, and SP-C mRNAs were increased in the lungs of newborn C/EBPalpha-deficient mice. Northern blot analysis revealed that surfactant protein mRNAs were also increased. Thus, these results suggest that C/EBPalpha may play a key role in the proliferation of alveolar type II cells and the regulation of genes of surfactant protein. |
