Failure to Down-Regulate miR-154 Expression in Early Postnatal Mouse Lung Epithelium Suppresses Alveologenesis, with Changes in Tgf-β Signaling Similar to those Induced by Exposure to Hyperoxia

The vascular phenotype of BPD: new basic science insights-new precision medicine approaches

Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is the most common complication of preterm birth. Up to 1/3 of children with BPD develop pulmonary hypertension (PH). PH increases mortality, the risk of adverse neurodevelopmental outcome and lacks effective treatment. Current vasodilator therapies address symptoms, but not the underlying arrested vascular development. Recent insights into placental biology and novel technological advances enabling the study of normal and impaired lung development at the single cell level support the concept of a vascular phenotype of BPD. Dysregulation of growth factor pathways results in depletion and dysfunction of putative distal pulmonary endothelial progenitor cells including Cap1, Cap2, and endothelial colony-forming cells (ECFCs), a subset of vascular progenitor cells with self-renewal and de novo angiogenic capacity. Preclinical data demonstrate effectiveness of ECFCs and ECFC-derived particles including extracellular vesicles (EVs) in promoting lung vascular growth and reversing PH, but the mechanism is unknown. The lack of engraftment suggests a paracrine mode of action mediated by EVs that contain miRNA. Aberrant miRNA signaling contributes to arrested pulmonary vascular development, hence using EV- and miRNA-based therapies is a promising strategy to prevent the development of BPD-PH. More needs to be learned about disrupted pathways, timing of intervention, and mode of delivery. IMPACT: Single-cell RNA sequencing studies provide new in-depth view of developmental endothelial depletion underlying BPD-PH. Aberrant miRNA expression is a major cause of arrested pulmonary development. EV- and miRNA-based therapies are very promising therapeutic strategies to improve prognosis in BPD-PH.

Recent progress in neonatal hyperoxic lung injury

With the progress in neonatal intensive care, there has been an increase in the survival rates of premature infants. However, this has also led to an increased incidence of neonatal hyperoxia lung injury and bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), whose pathogenesis is believed to be influenced by various prenatal and postnatal factors, although the exact mechanisms remain unclear. Recent studies suggest that multiple mechanisms might be involved in neonatal hyperoxic lung injury and BPD, with sex also possibly playing an important role, and numerous drugs have been proposed and shown promise for improving the treatment outcomes of hyperoxic lung injury. Therefore, this paper aims to analyze and summarize sex differences in neonatal hyperoxic lung injury, potential pathogenesis and treatment progress to provide new ideas for basic and clinical research in this field.

Implications in Cancer of Nuclear Micro RNAs, Long Non-Coding RNAs, and Circular RNAs Bound by PRC2 and FUS

The eukaryotic genome is mainly transcribed into non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs), including different RNA biotypes, such as micro RNAs (miRNAs), long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), and circular RNAs (circRNAs), among others. Although miRNAs are assumed to act primarily in the cytosol, mature miRNAs have been reported and functionally characterized in the nuclei of different cells. Further, lncRNAs are important regulators of different biological processes in the cell nucleus as part of different ribonucleoprotein complexes. CircRNAs constitute a relatively less-characterized RNA biotype that has a circular structure as result of a back-splicing process. However, circRNAs have recently attracted attention in different scientific fields due to their involvement in various biological processes and pathologies. In this review, we will summarize recent studies that link to cancer miRNAs that have been functionally characterized in the cell nucleus, as well as lncRNAs and circRNAs that are bound by core components of the polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2) or the protein fused in sarcoma (FUS), highlighting mechanistic aspects and their diagnostic and therapeutic potential.

Patho-mechanisms of the origins of bronchopulmonary dysplasia

Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) continues to be one of the most common complications of prematurity, despite significant advancement in neonatology over the last couple of decades. The new BPD is characterized histopathologically by impaired lung alveolarization and dysregulated vascularization. With the increased survival of extremely preterm infants, the risk for the development of BPD remains high, emphasizing the continued need to understand the patho-mechanisms that play a role in the development of this disease. This brief review summarizes recent advances in our understanding of the maldevelopment of the premature lung, highlighting recent research in pathways of oxidative stress-related lung injury, the role of placental insufficiency, growth factor signaling, the extracellular matrix, and microRNAs.

Signaling Pathways Involved in the Development of Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia and Pulmonary Hypertension

The alveolar and vascular developmental arrest in the premature infants poses a major problem in the management of these infants. Although, with the current management, the survival rate has improved in these infants, but bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is a serious complication associated with a high mortality rate. During the neonatal developmental period, these infants are vulnerable to stress. Hypoxia, hyperoxia, and ventilation injury lead to oxidative and inflammatory stress, which induce further damage in the lung alveoli and vasculature. Development of pulmonary hypertension (PH) in infants with BPD worsens the prognosis. Despite considerable progress in the management of premature infants, therapy to prevent BPD is not yet available. Animal experiments have shown deregulation of multiple signaling factors such as transforming growth factorβ (TGFβ), connective tissue growth factor (CTGF), fibroblast growth factor 10 (FGF10), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), caveolin-1, wingless & Int-1 (WNT)/β-catenin, and elastin in the pathogenesis of BPD. This article reviews the signaling pathways entailed in the pathogenesis of BPD associated with PH and the possible management.

Targeting Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia-Associated Pulmonary Hypertension (BPD-PH): Potential Role of the FGF Signaling Pathway in the Development of the Pulmonary Vascular System

More than 50 years after the first description of Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) by Northway, this chronic lung disease affecting many preterm infants is still poorly understood. Additonally, approximately 40% of preterm infants suffering from severe BPD also suffer from Bronchopulmonary dysplasia-associated pulmonary hypertension (BPD-PH), leading to a significant increase in total morbidity and mortality. Until today, there is no curative therapy for both BPD and BPD-PH available. It has become increasingly evident that growth factors are playing a central role in normal and pathologic development of the pulmonary vasculature. Thus, this review aims to summarize the recent evidence in our understanding of BPD-PH from a basic scientific point of view, focusing on the potential role of Fibroblast Growth Factor (FGF)/FGF10 signaling pathway contributing to disease development, progression and resolution.