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Repair and regeneration of a diseased lung using stem cells or bioengineered tissues is an exciting therapeutic approach for a variety of lung diseases and critical illnesses. Over the past decade, increasing evidence from preclinical models suggests that mesenchymal stromal cells, which are not normally resident in the lung, can be used to modulate immune responses after injury, but there have been challenges in translating these promising findings to the clinic. In parallel, there has been a surge in bioengineering studies investigating the use of artificial and acellular lung matrices as scaffolds for three-dimensional lung or airway regeneration, with some recent attempts of transplantation in large animal models. The combination of these studies with those involving stem cells, induced pluripotent stem cell derivatives, and/or cell therapies is a promising and rapidly developing research area. These studies have been further paralleled by significant increases in our understanding of the molecular and cellular events by which endogenous lung stem and/or progenitor cells arise during lung development and participate in normal and pathological remodeling after lung injury. For the 2023 Stem Cells, Cell Therapies, and Bioengineering in Lung Biology and Diseases Conference, scientific symposia were chosen to reflect the most cutting-edge advances in these fields. Sessions focused on the integration of “omics” technologies with function, the influence of immune cells on regeneration, and the role of the extracellular matrix in regeneration. The necessity for basic science studies to enhance fundamental understanding of lung regeneration and to design innovative translational studies was reinforced throughout the conference.
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Lung Progenitor and Stem Cell Transplantation as a Potential Regenerative Therapy for Lung Diseases
Chronic lung diseases are debilitating illnesses ranking among the top causes of death globally. Currently, clinically available therapeutic options capable of curing chronic lung diseases are limited to lung transplantation, which is hindered by donor organ shortage. This highlights the urgent need for alternative strategies to repair damaged lung tissues. Stem cell transplantation has emerged as a promising avenue for regenerative treatment of the lung, which involves delivery of healthy lung epithelial progenitor cells that subsequently engraft in the injured tissue and further differentiate to reconstitute the functional respiratory epithelium. These transplanted progenitor cells possess the remarkable ability to self-renew, thereby offering the potential for sustained long-term treatment effects. Notably, the transplantation of basal cells, the airway stem cells, holds the promise for rehabilitating airway injuries resulting from environmental factors or genetic conditions such as cystic fibrosis. Similarly, for diseases affecting the alveoli, alveolar type II cells have garnered interest as a viable alveolar stem cell source for restoring the lung parenchyma from genetic or environmentally induced dysfunctions. Expanding upon these advancements, the use of induced pluripotent stem cells to derive lung progenitor cells for transplantation offers advantages such as scalability and patient specificity. In this review, we comprehensively explore the progress made in lung stem cell transplantation, providing insights into the current state of the field and its future prospects.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2145181
- PAR ID:
- 10513268
- Publisher / Repository:
- Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Transplantation
- ISSN:
- 0041-1337
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.1097/TP.0000000000004959
