Lung Biology and Pathophysiology

The lungs are the organ for gas exchange between the body and the external environment. Dysfunction of upper airway epithelium and smooth muscle cells leads to pathogenesis of asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), cystic fibrosis, and other conditions, resulting in airway inflammation and narrowing. Injury to alveolar epithelium and endothelium causes influx of neutrophil and protein-rich fluid from circulation, resulting in edema and disruption of gas exchange. In addition to lung structural cells, immune cells, including alveolar macrophages and lymphocytes play critical roles in the maintenance of lung function. This book contributes to the understanding homeostasis of lung cells in the physiological and pathological conditions critical to the development of novel therapeutics.

Key Features

• Highlights the role the lungs play as an interface between the body and the environment
• Describes the underlying mechanism of lung diseases
• Emphasizes the ways nutrition contributes to lung health as well as the ways pollution adversely affect lung function
• Includes contributions from leading researchers

Chapters 8 and 13 of this book are available for free in PDF format as Open Access from the individual product page at www.routledge.com. It has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.

Yutong Zhao is a Professor of Physiology and Cell Biology at the Ohio State University. He received his clinical medical degree from Dalian Medical University in China and PhD degree from Gifu University School of Medicine in Japan. He was trained in biochemistry, molecular biology, and active lipid signaling during his PhD student period. He joined a pulmonary postdoctoral training program in Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and received his first NIH R01 funding at the University of Chicago as a Research Assistant Professor. Dr. Zhao is an expert in research fields of lung biology, bioactive lysophospholipid, and protein ubiquitination. His research focuses on investigating the pathogenesis of lung diseases including acute respiratory distress syndrome, pulmonary fibrosis, pulmonary arterial hypertension, asthma, lung cancer, and COPD. The goal of Dr. Zhao’s laboratory research is to develop new therapeutic targets for treating lung diseases. Dr. Zhao is active in in academic professional services as a reviewer, associate editor, member of editorial board of scientific journals and grant review study sections.