An image is worth a thousand words.

Friends and Colleagues,

 

It is time to find a new figure for our website (http://ajplung.physiology.org).  In the past, I selected a figure from recently published articles (either in Press or in Final Form). However, this is your journal and I am asking for your help in identifying the best possible figure to represent us.  We are looking for a color picture from AJP-Lung articles published in the past 6 months that epitomizes the essence of the journal.  Please send your nominations to Sadis Matalon, Editor, AJP-Lung (sadis@uab.edu)  and copy Amy McEver, our Editorial Assistant (amcever@emory.edu).  Self-nominations are welcome. The figure will be selected by the Editor and Deputy Editor.  The winner will receive a thank you letter from the Editor and her/his contribution will be acknowledged in our Facebook page.

 

I look forward to your input.  Thank you very much for your contributions to our journal.

 

Sadis Matalon,

Editor in Chief,

American Journal of Physiology-Lung Cellular and Molecular Physiology

Great progress for those awaiting lung transplants

Check out our newest press release below:

Stem Cell Therapy May Help Recondition Lungs Previously Rejected for Transplant

Nicotine: The Good and the Bad

A number of studies have suggested that nicotine may have beneficial effects in Alzheimers disease (1), but nicotine is not so beneficial in the lung. Small airway obstruction with viscous mucus is correlated with lung decline in COPD patients, and nicotine is known to promote mucus hypersecretion (2). In a recent study in AJP Lung by Chen et al. (http://ajplung.physiology.org/content/early/2014/05/14/ajplung.00396.2012), the authors suggest that nicotine does more than that. They show that nicotine directly interacts with the mucins and affects their hydration properties and leads to higher mucus viscosity as monitored by multiple particle tracking techniques. The study is important because poor hydration of mucins is closely correlated with increased bacterial infections and lung function decline in COPD patients (3) and supports the view that even second-hand cigarette smoke has harmful effects.

1. Baldinger SL, and Schroeder DJ. Nicotine Therapy in Patients with Alzheimers-Disease. Ann Pharmacother 29: 314-315, 1995.

2. Lang M, Hummer B, and Hahn HL. Effect of systemic nicotine on mucus secretion from tracheal submucosal glands and on cardiovascular, pulmonary, and hematologic variables. Klinische Wochenschrift 66 Suppl 11: 170-179, 1988.

3. Vestbo J, Prescott E, and Lange P. Association of chronic mucus hypersecretion with FEV1 decline and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease morbidity. Copenhagen City Heart Study Group. American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine 153: 1530-1535, 1996.

The following articles on this topic were published in AJP-Lung during the last two years:

Nicotine alters mucin rheological properties.

Chen EY, Sun A, Chen CS, Mintz AJ, Chin WC.

Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol. 2014 May 16. pii: ajplung.00396.2012. [Epub ahead of print]

Perinatal nicotine-induced transgenerational asthma.

Rehan VK, Liu J, Sakurai R, Torday JS.

Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol. 2013 Oct 1;305(7):L501-7. doi: 10.1152/ajplung.00078.2013. Epub 2013 Aug 2.

PMID:23911437

Cholinergic regulation of epithelial sodium channels in rat alveolartype 2 epithelial cells.

Takemura Y, Helms MN, Eaton AF, Self J, Ramosevac S, Jain L, Bao HF, Eaton DC.

Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol. 2013 Mar 15;304(6):L428-37. doi: 10.1152/ajplung.00129.2012. Epub 2013 Jan 4.

PMID:23292809

Nicotine-induced epithelial-mesenchymal transition via Wnt/β-catenin signalingin human airway epithelial cells.

Zou W, Zou Y, Zhao Z, Li B, Ran P.

Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol. 2013 Feb 15;304(4):L199-209. doi: 10.1152/ajplung.00094.2012. Epub 2012 Nov 30.

PMID:23204070

The ly-6protein, lynx1, is an endogenous inhibitor of nicotinic signaling in airway epithelium.

Fu XW, Rekow SS, Spindel ER.

Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol. 2012 Oct 15;303(8):L661-8. doi: 10.1152/ajplung.00075.2012. Epub 2012 Aug 24.

PMID: 22923641