Airway cells are required for the maintenance of the adult mouse lung and for carcinogen-induced lung adenocarcinoma development, and are thus marked therapeutic targets.
Lineage specifiers FoxA1 and FoxA2 control lung cancer growth and identity by activating gastric differentiation and suppressing squamous cell carcinoma transdifferentiation.
Functional and mechanistic analysis of p53-regulated lncRNA PINCR and its interacting RNA-binding protein Matrin 3 uncovers context-dependent regulation of specific p53 target genes during DNA damage.
In small cell lung cancer, the transition from a neuroendocrine state to a more neuronal state endows these cancer cells with increased migration and metastatic potential.
Cell replenishment within the airways is governed by the random division of a population of basal progenitor cells, in a process that is accelerated in smokers.