-Prematurely born infants who require oxygen therapy often develop bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), a debilitating disorder characterized by pronounced alveolar hypoplasia. Hyperoxic injury is believed to disrupt critical signaling pathways that direct lung development, causing BPD. We investigated the effects of normobaric hyperoxia on transforming growth factor (TGF)-␤ and bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) signaling in neonatal C57BL/6J mice exposed to 21% or 85% O2 between postnatal days P1 and P28. Growth and respiratory compliance were significantly impaired in pups exposed to 85% O2, and these pups also exhibited a pronounced arrest of alveolarization, accompanied by dysregulated expression and localization of both receptor (ALK-1, ALK-3, ALK-6, and the TGF-␤ type II receptor) and Smad (Smads 1, 3, and 4) proteins. TGF-␤ signaling was potentiated, whereas BMP signaling was impaired both in the lungs of pups exposed to 85% O2 as well as in MLE-12 mouse lung epithelial cells and NIH/3T3 and primary lung fibroblasts cultured in 85% O2. After exposure to 85% O2, primary alveolar type II cells were more susceptible to TGF-␤-induced apoptosis, whereas primary pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells were unaffected. Exposure of primary lung fibroblasts to 85% O2 significantly enhanced the TGF-␤-stimulated production of the ␣1 subunit of type I collagen (I␣1), tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1, tropoelastin, and tenascin-C. These data demonstrated that hyperoxia significantly affects TGF-␤/BMP signaling in the lung, including processes central to septation and, hence, alveolarization. The amenability of these pathways to genetic and pharmacological manipulation may provide alternative avenues for the management of BPD.

Although transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-␤) signaling negatively regulates branching morphogenesis in early lung development, few studies to date have addressed the role of this family of growth factors during late lung development. We describe here that the expression, tissue localization, and activity of components of the TGF-␤ signaling machinery are dynamically regulated during late lung development in the mouse and human. Pronounced changes in the expression and localization of the TGF-␤ receptors Acvrl1, Tgfbr1, Tgfbr2, Tgfbr3, and endoglin, and the intracellular messengers Smad2, Smad3, Smad4, Smad6, and Smad7 were noted as mouse and human lungs progressed through the canalicular, saccular, and alveolar stages of development. TGF-␤ signaling, assessed by phosphorylation of Smad2, was detected in the vascular and airway smooth muscle, as well as the alveolar and airway epithelium throughout late lung development. These data suggest that active TGF-␤ signaling is required for normal late lung development. Developmental Dynamics 237:259 -269, 2008.

Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) play important roles in early lung development. No study to date has addressed a role for BMP signaling in late lung development. We describe changes in the expression and localization of BMP receptors (Bmpr1a, Bmpr1b, and Bmpr2) and Smad (Smad1, Smad4, Smad5, and Smad8) intracellular signaling proteins during the saccular and alveolarization stages of late lung development. BMP signaling, assessed by Smad1/5 phosphorylation, nuclear translocation, and induction of id1, id2, and id3 gene expression, was evident throughout late lung development. Our data indicate that BMP signaling is active during late lung development, and points to roles for the BMP system in septal and vascular development, and in the homeostasis of the epithelial layer of large conducting airways in the mature lung.