This week BMC Seminar Thursday, 5th February will be at 12:00 in room 343, Læknagarður

Speaker: Ari Jón Arason, PhD student undir supervision of Þórarinn Guðjónsson and Magnús Karl Magnússon at the Stem Cell Research Unit, Læknagarður

Title: p63 positive basal cells in bronchial epithelium and fibrosis

Short abstract: 

The upper airways are lined with a pseudostratified bronchial epithelium that forms a barrier against unwanted substances in breathing air. The transcription factor p63, which is important for stratification of skin epithelium, has been shown to be expressed in basal cells of the lungs and its delta-N isoform is recognized as a key player in squamous cell lung cancer. However, the role of p63 in formation and maintenance of bronchial epithelia is largely unknown.

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a progressive interstitial lung disease with high morbidity and mortality. The cellular source of IPF is currently unknown but one suggested source has been epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in the alveolar region. To date much less effort has been put in studying the role of bronchial epithelium in regard to IPF.