University of North Carolina Health Care researchers have made strides toward a stem cell treatment for lung diseases such as pulmonary fibrosis, COPD, and cystic fibrosis.
In fact, they are discussing the start of clinical trials with regulatory authorities.
The team discussed its work in two recent studies. One proved that it is possible to isolate lung stem cells with a relatively non-invasive procedure. The other showed that stem cells reduce fibrosis in rats with pulmonary fibrosis.
“This is the first time anyone has generated potentially therapeutic lung stem cells from minimally invasive biopsy specimens,” Dr. Jason Lobo, director of the university’s lung transplant and interstitial lung disease program, said in a press release. He was co-senior author of both studies.
The research team had previously homed in on stem and support cells they could isolate from a lung tissue sample and grow in a lab. The tissue formed sphere-like structures in a lab dish, prompting the scientists to call them lung spheroid cells.
In 2015, the team showed that these cells had potent regenerative properties in animals with lung diseases. In fact, the stem cells they cultivated outperformed another type called mesenchymal stem cells.
For further information, please check the links below:
- Press release
- The first study, in the journal Respiratory Research, was titled “Derivation of therapeutic lung spheroid cells from minimally invasive transbronchial pulmonary biopsies.” The second, in Stem Cells Translational Medicine, was “Safety and Efficacy of Allogeneic Lung Spheroid Cells in a Mismatched Rat Model of Pulmonary Fibrosis.”
