Medical news network August 17th North Carolina University School of medicine and the method of the North Carolina State University joint research project shows how to use minimally invasive access to lung stem cells, and then amplified for the treatment of lung diseases: a potential, strong against lung inflammation and fibrosis treatment method.
The excellent ability of pulmonary bulb cells obtained in this study was demonstrated in a mouse model of pulmonary fibrosis.
The United States of North Carolina, Chapel Hill -- from the University of North Carolina School of Medicine (UNC) and North Carolina State University (NCSU) research team developed a method for cell therapy of lung disease a promising stem, this method can be used for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and the treatment of cystic fibrosis and other serious lung disease. Tens of thousands of people suffer from these deadly lung diseases in the United states. The findings are published in the Journal Respiratory Research. The team of scientists confirmed that they use relatively simple technique of minimally invasive, can be done in the doctor's office to collect human lung stem cells, and then amplified to obtain enough cells for clinical treatment of patients in the laboratory. At the same time, another study by the team appeared in the Stem Cells Translational Medicine. In this study, they will lung cells of this type is successfully applied to the treatment of rodent animal models of IPF, IPF has been considered a pulmonary function characterized by decreased chronic and irreversible fatal disease to.
The team has submitted to the U.S. FDA an application for preliminary clinical trials in patients with IPF. One of the two articles co senior author, assistant professor at the University of North Carolina School of medicine, lung transplantation and director Dr. Jason Lobo of lung disease medicine, said, "this is for people to obtain has potential therapeutic value of lung stem cells from minimally invasive biopsy specimens for the first time". Another communication author, Dr. Cheng Ke evaluation of the University of North Carolina Department of Biomedical Engineering, "we believe that the characteristics of these cells makes them a potential therapeutic role widely in pulmonary fibrosis".
These lung diseases include a variety of fibrotic fibrotic tissue caused by chronic lung inflammation. Because these fibrotic tissues replace normal lung tissue, the lungs are unable to effectively transfer oxygen to the blood, which ultimately results in the risk of early death from respiratory failure. Most IPF patients do not survive more than five years after diagnosis. Currently, two approved FDA therapies for IPF can only be used to alleviate symptoms of the disease and do not prevent the progression of the disease. The only effective treatment is lung transplantation, but it has a high risk of death and requires long-term use of immunosuppressive agents.
Scientists have been working on the use of stem cells for the study of alternative therapies for IPF and other lung fibrosis disorders. Stem cells have the characteristics of proliferation and differentiation into mature somatic cells, and therefore can be used for the repair of organism damage. Some stem cells also have anti-inflammatory and anti fibrotic properties and are more promising in the treatment of fibrotic diseases. Professor Cheng and Professor Lobo have focused on the study of stem cells and Sertoli cells obtained from biopsy specimens that can be expanded in vitro and can reside in the lungs. These cells are called globular cells because they form a unique globular structure when cultured in vitro. In 2015, the team reported the first lung ball like cells can exhibit strong regeneration ability in the pulmonary fibrosis model in mice, these cells than the same for non pulmonary fibrosis in the treatment of mesenchymal stem cells has therapeutic effect more effectively.
In the early stages of the two studies, Lobo and his team obtained lung - like cells from patients with lung disease by minimally invasive transbronchial biopsy. Professor Lobo said: "we have taken microscopic, seed sized airway tissue samples through bronchoscopic forceps, which significantly reduces the risk compared with traditional lung biopsy specimens obtained by chest puncture."." In one study, Professor Cheng and his team developed lung - like cells from these tiny tissue samples and expanded them to tens of thousands to meet the need for in vivo therapy. When they injected the cells into mice, they found that most of the cells were concentrated in the lungs of mice. "These cells come from the lungs, so in a sense they are more likely to reside in the lungs and function there."."
In the second study, they first established a rat model of IPF fibrosis and then injected lung like cells into one group of rats. Compared with other placebo groups, the balloon cell treatment group had higher overall lung cell viability as well as less lung inflammation and fibrosis. Professor Lobo said, "whether the pulmosphere cells of autologous or allogeneic origin, therapeutic effect of both safe and effective, that is to say even if" foreign "stem cells will not be like that organ transplantation immune response caused by injury of".
Professor Lobo and Professor Cheng hope to use the autologous source of pulmonary bulb cells in human experiments to minimize the risk of immune rejection. But ultimately, in order to obtain enough cells to meet the needs of a wide range of clinical applications, doctors may also obtain from healthy volunteers as well as whole lung tissues obtained from organ donation networks. Professor Cheng, Professor Lobo, and their team are planning a clinical trial of using pulmonary alveolar cells for a small number of IPF patients, hoping that the application will be approved by FDA this year. In the long run, the researchers hope that their lung stem cell therapy will also benefit COPD, cystic fibrosis and many other fibrotic diseases such as fiber and tuberculosis.
The technology has now licensed BreStem Therapeutics, a new Biotech Corp in North Carolina, for subsequent development. "The global patent for lung stem cells is exciting," says CEO Al Pritchard of the company. We will actively develop this technology and look forward to working with companies and individuals interested in the technology globally."
