Control of vertebrate multiciliogenesis by miR-449 through direct repression of the Delta/Notch pathway.

Multiciliated cells lining the surface of some vertebrate epithelia are essential for various physiological processes, such as airway cleansing. However, the mechanisms governing motile cilia biosynthesis remain poorly elucidated. We identify miR-449 microRNAs as evolutionarily conserved key regulators of vertebrate multiciliogenesis. In human airway epithelium and Xenopus laevis embryonic epidermis, miR-449 microRNAs strongly accumulated in multiciliated cells. In both models, we show that miR-449 microRNAs promote centriole multiplication and multiciliogenesis by directly repressing the Delta/Notch pathway. We established Notch1 and its ligand Delta-like 1(DLL1) as miR-449 bona fide targets. Human DLL1 and NOTCH1 protein levels were lower in multiciliated cells than in surrounding cells, decreased after miR-449 overexpression and increased after miR-449 inhibition. In frog, miR-449 silencing led to increased Dll1 expression. Consistently, overexpression of Dll1 mRNA lacking miR-449 target sites repressed multiciliogenesis, whereas both Dll1 and Notch1 knockdown rescued multiciliogenesis in miR-449-deficient cells. Antisense-mediated protection of miR-449-binding sites of endogenous human Notch1 or frog Dll1 strongly repressed multiciliogenesis. Our results unravel a conserved mechanism whereby Notch signalling must undergo miR-449-mediated inhibition to permit differentiation of ciliated cell progenitors.

{alpha}7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor regulates airway epithelium differentiation by controlling basal cell proliferation.

Airway epithelial basal cells are known to be critical for regenerating injured epithelium and maintaining tissue homeostasis. Recent evidence suggests that the alpha7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR), which is highly permeable to Ca(2+), is involved in lung morphogenesis. Here, we have investigated the potential role of the alpha7 nAChR in the regulation of airway epithelial basal cell proliferation and the differentiation of the human airway epithelium. In vivo during fetal development and in vitro during the regeneration of the human airway epithelium, alpha7 nAChR expression coincides with epithelium differentiation. Inactivating alpha7 nAChR function in vitro increases cell proliferation during the initial steps of the epithelium regeneration, leading to epithelial alterations such as basal cell hyperplasia and squamous metaplasia, remodeling observed in many bronchopulmonary diseases. The regeneration of the airway epithelium after injury in alpha7(-/-) mice is delayed and characterized by a transient hyperplasia of basal cells. Moreover, 1-year-old alpha7(-/-) mice more frequently present basal cells hyperplasia. Modulating nAChR function or expression shows that only alpha7 nAChR, as opposed to heteropentameric alpha(x)beta(y) nAChRs, controls the proliferation of human airway epithelial basal cells. These findings suggest that alpha7 nAChR is a key regulator of the plasticity of the human airway epithelium by controlling basal cell proliferation and differentiation pathway and is involved in airway remodeling during bronchopulmonary diseases.

Epithelial cell-extracellular matrix interactions and stem cells in airway epithelial regeneration.

In healthy subjects, the respiratory epithelium forms a continuous lining to the airways and to the environment, and plays a unique role as a barrier against external deleterious agents to protect the airways from the insults. In respiratory diseases such as cystic fibrosis (CF), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), chronic bronchitis, or asthma, the airway epithelium is frequently remodeled and injured, leading to the impairment of its defense functions. The rapid restoration of the epithelial barrier is crucial for these patients. The complete regeneration of the airway epithelium is a complex phenomenon, including not only the epithelial wound repair but also the epithelial differentiation to reconstitute a fully well differentiated and functional epithelium. The regeneration implies two partners: the epithelial stem/progenitor cells and factors able to regulate this process. Among these factors, epithelial cells-extracellular matrix (ECM) interactions play a crucial role. The secretion of a provisional ECM, the cell-ECM relationships through epithelial receptors, and the remodeling of the ECM by proteases (mainly matrix metalloproteinases) contribute not only to airway epithelial repair by modulating epithelial cell migration and proliferation, but also to the differentiation of repairing cells leading to the complete restoration of the wounded epithelium. A better characterization of resident stem cells and of effectors of the regeneration process is an essential prerequisite to propose new regenerative therapeutics to patients suffering from infectious/inflammatory respiratory diseases.