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Updated: Jul 16, 2026
06:54
Studying TGF-β Signaling and TGF-β-induced Epithelial-to-mesenchymal Transition in Breast Cancer and Normal Cells
Published on: October 27, 2020
TGFβ determines epithelial tissue spacing by regulating mesenchymal condensation.
Chan Jin Park1, Pengfei Zhang1, Carolina Trenado-Yuste2
1Department of Chemical & Biological Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA.
Cell Reports
|July 14, 2026
Summary
Transforming growth factor β (TGFβ) signaling in mesenchymal cells drives lung branch spacing by promoting cell migration and condensation, preventing epithelial contact during development.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Biology
- Cell Signaling
- Organogenesis
Background:
- Vertebrate lung development requires precise branching to maximize gas exchange surface area.
- Mechanisms preventing adjacent epithelial branches from contacting each other during lung morphogenesis are not fully understood.
- Understanding branch spacing is crucial for insights into normal lung formation and potential developmental defects.
Purpose of the Study:
- To elucidate the molecular and cellular mechanisms regulating epithelial branch spacing during embryonic lung development.
- To investigate the role of transforming growth factor β (TGFβ) signaling in lung branching patterns.
- To determine whether branch spacing is driven by epithelial self-avoidance or mesenchymal interactions.
Main Methods:
- Utilized the embryonic chicken lung as a model system for studying lung development.
- Investigated the effects of transforming growth factor β (TGFβ) signaling disruption on lung branching.
- Analyzed mesenchymal cell migration, condensation, and epithelial cell proliferation patterns.
Main Results:
- Transforming growth factor β (TGFβ) signaling in the mesenchyme is the primary regulator of branch spacing.
- TGFβ promotes directed migration of mesenchymal cells, leading to condensation that physically separates adjacent epithelial branches.
- Disruption of TGFβ signaling inhibits mesenchymal condensation, resulting in contact between developing epithelial branches.
Conclusions:
- Lung epithelial branch spacing is actively controlled by mesenchymal cell dynamics, specifically TGFβ-mediated cell migration and condensation.
- Mesenchymal cell condensation, rather than epithelial-intrinsic self-avoidance, dictates the regular spacing of lung branches.
- These findings reveal a novel mechanism of organ branching driven by mesenchymal-epithelial interactions.
Keywords:
CP: developmental biologyCP: molecular biologymechanical stressmorphogentissue morphodynamicsMore Related Videos
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