"This is essential reading for everyone who would like to update their knowledge of the pulmonary epithelium. It offers a comparison between laboratory animal models and human lungs, highlighting the differences and the similarities between the two, which will be particularly useful to researchers." –Doody's, April 2009 The past two decades have seen extraordinary advances in our understanding of the role of the pulmonary epithelium in airway health and disease. Our understanding of epithelial biology has expanded exponentially in the past decade. This book provides a unique comprehensive description of the structure of the epithelium, its damage by various agents and the mechanism of epithelial repair. In addition, it's detailed coverage includes not only the multiple ways in which the epithelium contributes to host defence, but also the nature and functional consequences of the interactions of inhaled pathogens, including viruses, bacteria, allergens and pollutants. the role of the epithelium in regulating airway inflammation and structure is also discussed, as is the role of the epithelium as a target for inhaled medications and as a route for novel drug delivery. Containing chapters on multiple aspects of epithelial function in health and disease, each one is written by a leader in the field. This is essential reading for pulmonary researchers and physicians requiring detailed advanced understanding of the epithelium as well as those working in allergy, biomedical and pharmaceutical research.

Lung Epithelial Biology in the Pathogenesis of Pulmonary Disease provides a one-stop resource capturing developments in lung epithelial biology related to basic physiology, pathophysiology, and links to human disease. The book provides access to knowledge of molecular and cellular aspects of lung homeostasis and repair, including the molecular basis of lung epithelial intercellular communication and lung epithelial channels and transporters. Also included is coverage of lung epithelial biology as it relates to fluid balance, basic ion/fluid molecular processes, and human disease. Useful to physician and clinical scientists, the contents of this book compile the important and most current findings about the role of epithelial cells in lung disease. Medical and graduate students, postdoctoral and clinical fellows, as well as clinicians interested in the mechanistic basis for lung disease will benefit from the books examination of principles of lung epithelium functions in physiological condition. Provides a single source of information on lung epithelial junctions and transporters Discusses of the role of the epithelium in lung homeostasis and disease Includes capsule summaries of main conclusions as well as highlights of future directions in the field Covers the mechanistic basis for lung disease for a range of audiences

Pulmonary Biology in Health and Disease was conceived as a companion to a handful of expensive, multivolume textbooks. This is part of the promising trend to publish shorter textbooks on the subjects of lung biology and remodeling. Whoever is familiar with human biology and the far-reaching consequences of the genome and postgenome revolutions is apt to concede that the centerpiece in remodeling lies in the ?eld of m- ecular cardiobiology. The ?eld of molecular cardiobiology includes the syndrome of chronic heart failure as well as ischemic cardioprotection. By analogy, the centerpiece in pulmonobiology is chronic asthma. Key topics in the present volume include s- naling mechanisms regulating the endothelium and smooth muscle cells,in?ammatory cells, mediators, airway surface liquid, and pharmacological therapy that focuses on how in?amed airways are altered. Written primarily for predoctoral and postdoctoral graduates in the basic medical sciences, the medical student and postdoctoral physician, graduates in the allied s- ences, nurses, pulmonologists, and physicians in critical care medicine, this book p- vides many of the fundamentals of contemporary pulmonology. It is divided into several parts devoted to the control of respiration, arterial chemoreceptors,muscles of ventilation, pulmonary physiology, and gas exchange in health, exercise, and disease. Special emphasis is placed on emphysema and its pathobiology, acute lung injury, asthma and inhaled toxicants. Because the ?eld is always evolving, each chapter includes recommended readings that lead the reader to sources of additional information, such as the review on remodeling of the blood gas barrier by West and Mathieu-Costello.

This report considers the biological and behavioral mechanisms that may underlie the pathogenicity of tobacco smoke. Many Surgeon General's reports have considered research findings on mechanisms in assessing the biological plausibility of associations observed in epidemiologic studies. Mechanisms of disease are important because they may provide plausibility, which is one of the guideline criteria for assessing evidence on causation. This report specifically reviews the evidence on the potential mechanisms by which smoking causes diseases and considers whether a mechanism is likely to be operative in the production of human disease by tobacco smoke. This evidence is relevant to understanding how smoking causes disease, to identifying those who may be particularly susceptible, and to assessing the potential risks of tobacco products.

Most organs in the adult human body are able to maintain themselves and undergo repair after injury; these processes are largely dependent on stem cells. In this Monograph, the Guest Editors bring together leading authors in the field to provide information about the different classes of stem cells present both in the developing and adult lung: where they are found, how they function in homeostasis and pathologic conditions, the mechanisms that regulate their behaviour, and how they may be harnessed for therapeutic purposes. The book focuses on stem cells in the mouse and human lung but also includes the ferret as an increasingly important new model organism. Chapters also discuss how lung tissue, including endogenous stem cells, can be generated in vitro from pluripotent stem cell lines. This state-of-the-art collection comprehensively covers one of the most exciting areas of respiratory science

This monograph sheds new light on pulmonary sensory receptors. Diving into the pulmonary microenvironment, the book focuses on the role of pulmonary neuroepithelial bodies (NEBs) as potential receptors and effectors, able to store and release neurotransmitters. It explores NEBs as potential stem cell niche and highlights the multidisciplinary approach taken to identify and study NEBs, including functional morphological investigation, live cell imaging, genetic models, and laser microdissection combined with gene expression analysis. Complexly organized NEBs are an integral part of the intrapulmonary airway epithelium of all air-breathing vertebrates. For decades a quest has been going on to unravel the functional significance of these intriguing structures that appear to be modified in the course of many pulmonary diseases. The NEB microenvironment (ME) is composed of organoid clusters of pulmonary neuroendocrine cells (PNECs) that are able to store and release neurotransmitters and are closely contacted by extensive nerve terminals, emphasizing a potential receptor/effector role and probable signalling to the central nervous system. PNECs are largely shielded from the airway lumen by a special type of Clara cells, the Clara-like cells, with potential stem cell characteristics. So far, functional studies of the pulmonary NEB ME revealed that PNECs can be activated by various mechanical and chemical stimuli, resulting in a calcium-mediated release of neurotransmitters. In the past decades, a number of publications have exposed NEBs as potential hypoxia sensors. Recent experimental evidence unveiled that the NEB ME is a quiescent stem cell niche in healthy postnatal lungs, and silencing may involve bone morphogenetic protein signalling mediated by vagal afferents. Only an integrated approach that takes all current information into account will be able to explain the full role of the pulmonary NEB ME in health and disease. This highly informative and carefully presented book, provides insights for researchers, PhD students with an interest in (bio)medical and veterinary science, especially in the field of the autonomic innervation of the lung, chemo-and mechanoreceptors