Epithelial architecture and signaling activity in the adult human esophagus
Barrier epithelia function to shield the inside of our bodies from external stressors and pathogens. The esophageal epithelium is no exception, providing protection while at the same time transporting food to the stomach. Although many epithelial tissues are comparable between humans and mice, the h...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcell.2025.1632255/full |
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| author | David Grommisch Evelien Eenjes Maeve L. Troost Maria Genander |
| author_facet | David Grommisch Evelien Eenjes Maeve L. Troost Maria Genander |
| author_sort | David Grommisch |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Barrier epithelia function to shield the inside of our bodies from external stressors and pathogens. The esophageal epithelium is no exception, providing protection while at the same time transporting food to the stomach. Although many epithelial tissues are comparable between humans and mice, the human esophageal epithelium displays unique features in both progenitor cell organization and tissue architecture compared to the mouse. These differences have limited our understanding of the adult human esophagus, hindering the development of therapeutic strategies targeting human esophageal disease. Herein, we contrast the esophageal epithelial architecture and progenitor cell populations in mice and humans and discuss the role of a tentative human-specific progenitor cell population located in the submucosal gland ducts. Furthermore, we review current models available to study the human esophageal epithelium, focusing predominantly on adult primary organoids and epithelioids as well as the generation of human developmental esophageal epithelial cells from induced pluripotent stem cells. Finally, we discuss signaling activity implicated in maintaining normal human epithelial homeostasis, and how these pathways contribute to disease development. We aim to provide a comprehensive outlook on our current understanding of the human esophageal epithelium, while simultaneously highlighting unanswered questions in esophageal epithelial maintenance. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-4e4263256e5b4f7baee40726142997b0 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2296-634X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology |
| spelling | doaj-art-4e4263256e5b4f7baee40726142997b02025-08-20T03:13:11ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology2296-634X2025-07-011310.3389/fcell.2025.16322551632255Epithelial architecture and signaling activity in the adult human esophagusDavid Grommisch0Evelien Eenjes1Maeve L. Troost2Maria Genander3Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics (MPI-CBG), Dresden, GermanyDepartment of Cell and Molecular Biology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, SwedenDepartment of Cell and Molecular Biology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, SwedenDepartment of Cell and Molecular Biology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, SwedenBarrier epithelia function to shield the inside of our bodies from external stressors and pathogens. The esophageal epithelium is no exception, providing protection while at the same time transporting food to the stomach. Although many epithelial tissues are comparable between humans and mice, the human esophageal epithelium displays unique features in both progenitor cell organization and tissue architecture compared to the mouse. These differences have limited our understanding of the adult human esophagus, hindering the development of therapeutic strategies targeting human esophageal disease. Herein, we contrast the esophageal epithelial architecture and progenitor cell populations in mice and humans and discuss the role of a tentative human-specific progenitor cell population located in the submucosal gland ducts. Furthermore, we review current models available to study the human esophageal epithelium, focusing predominantly on adult primary organoids and epithelioids as well as the generation of human developmental esophageal epithelial cells from induced pluripotent stem cells. Finally, we discuss signaling activity implicated in maintaining normal human epithelial homeostasis, and how these pathways contribute to disease development. We aim to provide a comprehensive outlook on our current understanding of the human esophageal epithelium, while simultaneously highlighting unanswered questions in esophageal epithelial maintenance.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcell.2025.1632255/fullesophagusepitheliumsignalingprogenitor cellsculture systemsorganoid |
| spellingShingle | David Grommisch Evelien Eenjes Maeve L. Troost Maria Genander Epithelial architecture and signaling activity in the adult human esophagus Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology esophagus epithelium signaling progenitor cells culture systems organoid |
| title | Epithelial architecture and signaling activity in the adult human esophagus |
| title_full | Epithelial architecture and signaling activity in the adult human esophagus |
| title_fullStr | Epithelial architecture and signaling activity in the adult human esophagus |
| title_full_unstemmed | Epithelial architecture and signaling activity in the adult human esophagus |
| title_short | Epithelial architecture and signaling activity in the adult human esophagus |
| title_sort | epithelial architecture and signaling activity in the adult human esophagus |
| topic | esophagus epithelium signaling progenitor cells culture systems organoid |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcell.2025.1632255/full |
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