Mar. 5, 2005 Organ development in the embryo requires precise
coordination and timing of cell growth in three-dimensional
space to produce the correct anatomic form and shape.
Researchers at Children's Hospital Boston, led by Dr. Donald
Ingber, a senior researcher in the Vascular Biology Program,
have demonstrated that the process of budding and branching in
the developing lung is driven by mechanical forces generated
within individual cells. They have also identified a possible
biochemical target for intervention. These insights could lead
to new ways to prevent, minimize or even correct diseases and
anomalies of the lungs, which are common in premature newborns.
Previously, Ingber and colleagues have shown that epithelial
tissues – the thin cell layers that line organs and other body
structures, including the lung's airways -- take their
characteristic three-dimensional forms through differences in
cell growth in different spatial locations. This cell growth is
influenced by changes in the extracellular mat