(Press-News.org) A new study by University of Iowa researchers finds that rare lung cells known as pulmonary ionocytes facilitate the absorption of water and salt from the airway surface. This function is exactly the opposite of what was expected of these cells and may have implications for cystic fibrosis (CF) lung disease.
Five years ago, scientists reported the unexpected discovery that ionocytes—a cell type commonly found in fish gills and frog skin—are also present in the lining of human lungs and airways. These pulmonary ionocytes were particularly interesting to CF researchers because although they only account for about 1% of all the cells in the airway lining, they contain about half of the total amount of CFTR, the protein that is dysfunctional in cystic fibrosis.
Despite the implication that CFTR-rich ionocytes might play an important role in CF, the function of these cells has remained unclear.
CFTR channels that are present in airway secretory cells are known to secrete chloride ions out of the cell and into the thin layer of liquid that covers the airway surface. This airway surface liquid plays a vital role in defending the lungs against harmful germs and particles. Because water “follows” salt, the outflow of chloride ions promotes hydration of the airway surface. In contrast, the new study found that CFTR channels in ionocytes do the opposite; they absorb chloride ions and promote moisture absorption.
“The key feature that allows ionocytes to absorb chloride is the ionocyte-specific barttin chloride channel on the opposite membrane of the cell from the CFTR channel,” says Ian Thornell, PhD, UI research assistant professor of internal medicine and senior author of the new study published in the Oct.16 issue of The Journal of Clinical Investigation. “Together, these two channels form a conduit for chloride through the ionocyte that helps drain the liquid lining the airways into the body.”
The divergent roles of CFTR channels in these two different types of airway cells—ionocytes and secretory cells—also suggests that CF disease disrupts both liquid secretion and absorption, which could have implications for CF lung disease and for how CF drugs affect lung function. Because current CFTR modulator therapies restore CFTR channel function, it is likely that modulators treat both secretion and absorption.
In addition to Thornell, the UI research team included co-senior author Paul McCray Jr., MD, UI professor of pediatrics-pulmonary medicine, and microbiology and immunology; and study first author Lei Lei, PhD, UI postdoctoral scholar. UI researchers Soumba Traore; Guillermo Romano Ibarra; Philip Karp; Tayyab Rehman; David Meyerholz; Joseph Zabner; David Stoltz; Patrick Sinn; and Michael Welsh were also part of the research team. The study was funded in part by grants from the National Institutes of Health (DK054759, HL09184, HL133089, HL147366, and HL152960) and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.
END
Rare lungs cells reveal another surprise with implications for cystic fibrosis
U. Iowa researchers show that pulmonary ionocytes mediate chloride and water absorption
2023-10-23
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
New UCF project is harnessing virtual reality to teach quantum computing
2023-10-23
ORLANDO, Oct. 23, 2023 – Researchers from the University of Central Florida, University of Texas at Dallas and Vanderbilt University have received a three-year, $927,203 grant for advancing future quantum education by using virtual reality (VR) and machine learning to identify and address misconceptions regarding quantum information science (QIS).
The U.S. National Science Foundation-funded project started in August 2023 and leverages QubitVR, a quantum-education VR application previously developed ...
Major pathologic response to neoadjuvant pembrolizumab in advanced melanoma trial exceeds 50 percent
2023-10-23
In exploratory analyses of results from the SWOG S1801 trial in patients with stage III-IV resectable melanoma, researchers saw a major pathologic response in more than half of surgical specimens taken from patients who had been treated with neoadjuvant (pre-operative) pembrolizumab.
These and other results of the analyses are presented as a proffered paper (Abstract LBA48) at the European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress 2023 in Madrid, Spain, on Monday, October 23, by Sapna P. Patel, MD, chair of the SWOG melanoma committee and associate professor of melanoma medical oncology at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Patel is principal investigator ...
NYSCF announces 2023 Class of NYSCF – Robertson Investigators
2023-10-23
The New York Stem Cell Foundation (NYSCF) today announced the 2023 class of NYSCF – Robertson Investigators, welcoming three outstanding stem cell researchers into the NYSCF Innovator community.
The NYSCF – Robertson Stem Cell Investigator Awards support promising early career scientists whose cutting-edge research holds the potential to accelerate treatments and cures through the NYSCF – Robertson Stem Cell Investigator Awards.
The awards provide unrestricted seed funding – $1.5 million over five years – for scientists who have established their own, ...
Researchers capture first images of a radio 'ring of fire' solar eclipse
2023-10-23
Researchers at New Jersey Institute of Technology’s Center for Solar-Terrestrial Research (NJIT-CSTR) have captured the Oct. 14 solar eclipse in a way never seen before — recording the first radio images of an annular eclipse’s famous “ring of fire” effect.
The eclipse was partially visible to much of the continental U.S. for several hours that Saturday, though the full “ring of fire” effect was only visible for less than five minutes, and only for those within its 125-mile-wide path of annularity.
However, the new observations of the radio Sun’s eclipse — ...
University of Montana leads $12.3 million contract to advance TB vaccine
2023-10-23
MISSOULA – The National Institutes of Health recently awarded a $12.3 million contract to the University of Montana to develop a novel vaccine adjuvant for use in a tuberculosis vaccine. Adjuvants are substances that boost the effectiveness of vaccines.
The five-year award went to UM’s Center for Translational Medicine and its partners. The contract is titled “Development of UM-1098: A Novel Synthetic Th17 Inducing Adjuvant and Delivery System.”
“The development and clinical evaluation of safe and effective ...
People who communicate more, show expertise are more likely to be seen as essential team members
2023-10-23
A new study sheds light on the vital role of communication and expertise within organizations, revealing their impact on group performance. Researchers examined how individuals become part of communication networks and the effect of selection processes on group performance. The study found that people who communicated more during training were more likely to be chosen as a central member of the network. In addition, teams that chose their central member performed as well as and often better than teams whose central member was randomly assigned.
The study, by researchers ...
Apoptotic cells may drive cell death in hair follicles during regression cycle
2023-10-23
“Revealing the stem cell niche self-renewal dynamics is important not only for understanding tissue homeostasis but also for understanding the initiation of cancer [7].”
BUFFALO, NY- October 23, 2023 – A new research paper was published in Oncotarget's Volume 14 on October 19, 2023, entitled, “Apoptotic cells may drive cell death in hair follicles during their regression cycle.”
Intravital microscopy in live mice has shown that the elimination of epithelial cells during hair follicle regression involves supra-basal cell differentiation and basal cell apoptosis through synergistic action of TGF-β (transforming ...
$3.6 million NIH award funds research to treat painful diabetic neuropathy
2023-10-23
COLUMBUS, Ohio – A $3.6 million award from the National Institutes of Health will allow neurosurgical, neurology and neuroscience researchers at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and College of Medicine to test a novel diagnosis and treatment combination for painful diabetic neuropathy. The approach combines spinal cord stimulation with measurement of small fiber nerve activity using a patent-pending device called Detecting Early Neuropathy (DEN).
Diabetes is a growing health concern worldwide, ...
Superdeep diamonds provide a window on supercontinent growth
2023-10-23
Washington, DC—Diamonds contain evidence of the mantle rocks that helped buoy and grow the ancient supercontinent Gondwana from below, according to new research from a team of scientists led by Suzette Timmerman—formerly of the University of Alberta and now at the University of Bern—and including Carnegie’s Steven Shirey, Michael Walter, and Andrew Steele. Their findings, published in Nature, demonstrate that superdeep diamonds can provide a window through space and time into the supercontinent growth and formation ...
American Cancer Society awards pilot funding to University of Cincinnati Cancer Center for early-stage investigators
2023-10-23
The American Cancer Society has awarded the University of Cincinnati Cancer Center an Institutional Research Grant.
Cancer Center member David Plas, PhD, is primary investigator for the grant, with members Maria Czyzyk-Krzeska, MD, PhD, and Kathryn Wikenheiser-Brokamp, MD, PhD, serving as co-principal investigators.
The American Cancer Society awards Institutional Research Grants to academic and nonprofit organizations that have a track record of outstanding cancer research and a pool of experienced researchers who can mentor junior faculty. The purpose is to support early-stage ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
X-ray flashes from a nearby supermassive black hole accelerate mysteriously
New research highlights trends in ADHD diagnoses
United States dementia cases estimated to double by 2060
“The biggest challenge is lacking public acceptance of wind turbines”
Six-month outcomes in the long-term outcomes after the multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children study
Global prevalence of sexual violence against children
Chances of quitting smoking improve with integrated care, including medication and counseling
From microplastics to macro-impact: KTU expert explains plastic recycling challenges
How does the brain encode pain? Scientists uncover neuronal mechanisms of pain intensity encoding
Study finds opioid pain medications very infrequently prescribed to NFL players
Wrong place, wrong time: Why Zika virus hijacks a protein needed for brain growth
The new age of infrastructure maintenance using data from space
CNIO and CNIC research identifies a key protein for ‘burning’ fat
‘True food’ research database offers rankings for 50,000 processed foods
Mystery solved: how tumor cells die after radiotherapy
Bacterial survival genes uncovered using evolutionary map
Sodium-ion batteries need breakthroughs to compete
Tumor DNA in the blood can predict lung cancer outcome
New study unveils breakthrough in understanding cosmic particle accelerators
Previous experience affects family planning decisions of people with hereditary dementia
Does obesity affect children’s likelihood of survival after being diagnosed with cancer?
Understanding bias and discrimination in AI: Why sociolinguistics holds the key to better Large Language Models and a fairer world
Safe and energy-efficient quasi-solid battery for electric vehicles and devices
Financial incentives found to help people quit smoking, including during pregnancy
Rewards and financial incentives successfully help people to give up smoking
HKU ecologists reveal key genetic insights for the conservation of iconic cockatoo species
New perspective highlights urgent need for US physician strike regulations
An eye-opening year of extreme weather and climate
Scientists engineer substrates hostile to bacteria but friendly to cells
New tablet shows promise for the control and elimination of intestinal worms
[Press-News.org] Rare lungs cells reveal another surprise with implications for cystic fibrosisU. Iowa researchers show that pulmonary ionocytes mediate chloride and water absorption