Expression of fibroblast growth factor-10 during histogenesis of human lung in prenatal period

Introduction: The developing human lung has five stages. Many important signaling molecules have been identified at each stage of the developing lung. Fibroblast growth factor (FGF) signaling, mainly FGF10, is a key molecule in airway branching. Failure of the expression of FGF10 may lead to hypoplastic lung and blunted tracheal end. In this view, the expression of FGF10 was studied in each stage of human lung development. Material and Methods: In the present study, ten aborted fetuses of gestational age 14–26 weeks were procured from the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, LNH, New Delhi, after ethical clearance. After fixation in 10% formalin, serial sections of each lung tissue were stained with hematoxylin and eosin, and immunostaining was done to see the expression of FGF10. Results: The amount of mesenchymal tissue decreased and condensed with advancing gestational age. At 14-week gestation, the first expression of FGF10 was seen in mesenchyme by immunostaining. Discussion and Conclusion: As the gestational age advances, the amount of mesenchymal tissue decreases and gradual diminution of the height of epithelium was seen. By the 26th week of intrauterine life, fetal lung attains morphological maturity so as to support the extrauterine life of a growing fetus.