Categorizing Dysfunction in the Airway Epithelium 1

Categorizing Dysfunction in the Airway Epithelium 1

Raghu Chivukula, David Mankus, Margaret Bisher

Massachusetts General Hospital, Koch Institute at MIT, MIT Department of Biology, Whitehead Institute

Cilia are small hairs that line the inside of our lungs and help keep them clear of dust and debris. These images show cilia grown in a specially designed cell culture dish. The functional cilia are more densely packed and longer (upper right), while the dysfunctional cilia are shorter and do not fully cover the layers underneath (lower left).

The Sabatini lab hopes to expand study into specialized cells and problems of the human respiratory system. The images depicted here establish proof of principle that this system is tractable and amenable to molecular and biochemical study while uncovering the basis for a previously uncharacterized human respiratory disease.

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