In a major breakthrough, researchers from the Tongji University in China have developed a stem cell transplant that can regenerate damaged lungs. They have just completed a clinical trial which demonstrates that the therapy is viable. Details of this trial were recently published in the journal Protein & Cell.
Millions of people around the world suffer from chronic pulmonary diseases (CRDs). They are diseases of the airways that affect a person’s ability to breathe. The most common CRDs include chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), occupational lung diseases, asthma, and pulmonary hypertension.
Some of the risk factors for these diseases include air pollution, exposure to chemicals, tobacco smoke, genetic disorders, certain childhood illnesses, lung disease, and heart disease.
The symptoms of CRDs usually include coughing, shortness of breath, wheezing, fatigue, and chest tightness. There is currently no cure for CRDs. However, the symptoms can be reduced with various medications and lifestyle changes. This new study may hold the key to finding a cure.
The author of the study, Professor Wei Zuo, is very pleased with the results, saying: “Both patients and researchers need great courage to step forward from benchside to bedside, to test the new therapeutic strategy. Now the good news is that the strategy looks quite promising.”
The idea of using a stem cell transplant to treat damaged lungs began in 2015, when Professor Zuo and his team discovered that p63+/Krt5+ stem cells could regenerate the lung’s pulmonary structures in mice. The research team began looking for human stem cells that could perform the same task.
As Professor Zuo explained: ”The anatomical structure and development process of human lungs are quite different from that of mice. Only by directly studying human subjects can we get close to the truth and finally solve the real medical problem.”
They eventually discovered that a group of basal cells labeled with the SOX9+ marker could work as lung stem cells in humans. They isolated and amplified more of these cells in a laboratory, until they had enough for a stem cell transplant on human test subjects.
The researchers collaborated with scientists from the Southwest Hospital of China Army University and Regend Therapeutics to perform the clinical trial. They initially gave a stem cell transplant to two patients. A year after the procedure, both patients had less symptoms and CT scans showed their lungs were regenerating. Since then, the team has performed another 80 people stem cell transplants. Researchers believe it could lead to a cure for CRDs within a few years.
Source: Chinese researchers report first lung stem cell transplantation clinical trial
{{cta(‘d59882b5-74e2-4033-be94-d4c340e1978c’)}}