Harvard College

Other

The Brigham and Women's Hospital, Inc.

Dana-farber-cancer Institute Inc.

Frank McKeon

Annie Yang

Matthew J Vincent

Massimo Loda

Christopher Crum

Sandra W Ryeom

Kimbara Kayako

Wa Xian

Sabina Signorretti

Airway stem cells have been implicated in the pathology and progression of chronic airway diseases and yet also hold the promise of physiological and ultimately therapeutic repair of damage wrought by these conditions. The present invention is based on the observation that certain p63-expressing stem cells in the bronchiolar epithelium undergo rapid proliferation after infection and radiate to interbronchiolar regions of alveolar ablation. Once there, these cells assemble into discrete, Krt5+ pods and initiate expression of markers typical of alveoli. The dynamics of this p63-expressing stem cell in lung regeneration mirrors parallel findings that defined pedigrees of human distal airway stem cells assemble alveoli-like structures in vitro and provides new therapeutic avenues to acute and chronic airway disease as well as identifying agents which can promote repair.

Compositions and methods for lung regeneration

This invention discloses endogenous calcineurin inhibitors, Calcipressin, Csp1, Csp2, and Csp3, as shown in SEQ ID Nos: 4-5, or 24. This invention also discloses nucleic acid sequences that can activate or regulate transcription of the CSP family of polypeptides.

Calcipressins: endogenous inhibitors of calcineurin, uses and reagents related thereto

This application describes the cloning of p63, a gene at chromosome 3q27-29, that bears homology to the tumor suppressor p53. The p63 gene encodes at least six different isotypes. p63 was detected in a variety of human and mouse tissue and demonstrates remarkably divergent activities, such as the ability to transactivate p53 reporter genes and induce apoptosis. Isotopes of p63 lacking a transactivation domain act as dominant negatives towards the transactivation by p53 and p63.

Cell regulatory genes, encoded products, and uses related thereto

Growing community of inventors

Boston, MA, United States of America

Frank McKeon