Human Lung Stem Cell
Scientist discovered stem cell in the lung that can make a wide variety of the organ’s tissue, a finding that might open new doors for treating emphysema and other diseases. When human cells were injected to mice, they showed their versatility by rebuilding airways, air sacs and blood vessels within two weeks.
Stem cells have been found in bone marrow and some other parts of the body, it hasn’t been clear whether such a versatile cell existed in the lung. That too soon to make any promises about therapies, but they said it could be a significant advance in a difficult field of research.
Stem cells can produce a wide variety of specialized kinds of cells. Scientists are working to harness them as repair kits for fixing damage from diseases like Parkinson’s and diabetes. Most people have heard about embryonic stem cells, which have caused controversy because embryos must be destroyed to recover them.
Lung stem cell theoretically could be used to grow a lung in a lab for transplant, that would be very difficult because the lung is so complex. Scientists will first look at isolating the cells from a patient, multiplying them in the laboratory, and then injecting them back into the patient’s lung.
The mouse experiments showed “the cells are smarter than we are,” able to build normal lung structures in an injured lung. The researchers found the cells in donate surgical samples of adult tissue. The same cells appeared in tissue donate from nine fetuses that had died, giving evidence that the cells are present before birth and perhaps participate in lung development. Researcher injured lungs of mice and then injected six doses of about 20,000 cells apiece.
