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Developing Rat Lung Has a Sided Pacemaker Region for Morphogenesis-Related Airway Peristalsis

Department of Child Health, The Centre for Cell Imaging, and The Molecular Medicine Group, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom

Correspondence and requests for reprints should be addressed to Edwin C. Jesudason, M.A., M.D., National Clinician Scientist in Paediatric Surgery, Institute of Child Health, Alder Hey Children's Hospital, Eaton Road, Liverpool L12 2AP, UK. E-mail: e.jesudason{at}liv.ac.uk

Prenatal airways from diverse species are capable of spontaneous peristaltic contractions in each trimester. The function of this smooth muscle activity is unknown. We demonstrate that peristalsis of the embryonic airway originates from a sided pacemaker focus, is stimulated in a calcium-dependent fashion by the pulmonary morphogen fibroblast growth factor-10 (FGF-10), and appears coupled to lung growth. Airway peristalsis may be crucial for lung development (thereby providing a physiologic role for airway smooth muscle) and play a hitherto unanticipated role in reported transgenic mutant lung phenotypes.

Key Words: airway peristalsis • lung branching morphogenesis • pacemaker

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