SPATIAL EXPRESSION OF SONIC HEDGEHOG IN THE LUNG EPITHELIUM DURING BRANCHING MORPHOGENESIS

Sonic hedgehog (Shh), a homologue of Drosophila hedgehog, was specific ally expressed in lung epithelium during branching morphogenesis, but was not uniformly expressed in lung epithelium. Shh was intensely expr essed in the distal tips of the bronchial tubes during branching morph ogenesis, and Shh was localized on the apical side of the epithelium. On the other hand, Bmp-4, one of the target genes of Shh, was also spe cifically expressed in the epithelium at the branching point. These re sults suggest that Shh and Bmp-4 are involved in the branching morphog enesis of lung epithelium. (C) 1996 Academic Press, Inc.