Regulation of cell proliferation by Wnt signaling and apical-basal polarity in lung

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In this study, we aim to elucidate the mechanism for lung branching morphogenesis which is mediated by Wnt signaling. We have already generated three dimensional culture system of lung epithelium. By using this, we treated the epithelium with CHIR99021, an agonist for beta-catenin pathway or transduced lentiviruses that express Wnt2, a typical ligand for beta-catenin dependent pathway. CHIR or Wnt2 promoted branching morphogenesis. Activation of beta-catenin pathway promoted apical constriction provably through enhanced localization of atypical PKCzeta (aPKCzeta), a critical regulator of apical and basal polarity, to apical membrane. In addition, aPKCzeta inhibitor showed the defect in branching morphogenesis and apical constriction. In conclusion, we found that beta-catenin pathway maintains distal progenitor and is required for branching morphogenesis provably through apical targeting of aPKCzeta and apical constriction.