«We concluded that RAC1 regulates lung
branching morphogenesis, in part through the so - called canonical Wnt signaling pathway, which leads to the regulation
of the transcription
of many genes,» said principal investigator Denise Al Alam, PhD,
of the Department
of Surgery and the Developmental Biology and Regenerative Medicine Program at The Saban Research Institute.
Normal lung development — lung
branching morphogenesis — is an essential process occurring in early development that eventually leads to the formation
of the right number
of alveolar sacs, where gas exchange takes place.