title: Notch and basal cells take center stage during airway epithelial regeneration.
abstract: Airway epithelium is maintained by basal cells, but the mechanisms responsible for repair are poorly characterized. In this issue of Cell Stem Cell, Rock et al. (2011) show that Notch signals regulate differentiation, but not self-renewal of basal cells after injury, and that this role appears conserved in mouse and human lung.
authors.affiliation: Perinatal Institute, Section of Neonatology, Perinatal and Pulmonary Biology, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH 45229-3039, USA. jeff.whitsett@cchmc.org
authors.forename: Jeffrey A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Whitsett
authors.forename: Vladimir V
authors.initials: VV
authors.lastname: Kalinichenko