Nikhil Prasad Fact checked by:Thailand Medical News Team Jan 03, 2026 1 month, 3 weeks, 17 hours, 42 minutes ago
Medical-News: A Major Step Forward for Lung Repair Research
Scientists are making steady progress toward repairing damaged lungs using specially prepared cells, offering new hope for people living with long term respiratory diseases. A new scientific review has brought together years of research showing how different lung cells can be grown, guided, and used to help heal injured lung tissue. This
Medical News report highlights how these discoveries may one day change treatment for conditions such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease pulmonary fibrosis and cystic fibrosis.
Scientists are learning how to grow and transplant lung cells that may one day help repair damaged lungs
and restore breathing function.
The study was carried out by researchers from University Health Network Toronto-Canada and the University of Toronto-Canada.
Understanding the Lungs Natural Repair System
The lungs are lined with special cells that protect airways and help oxygen move into the blood. Some of these cells act like repair workers. When injury occurs, they multiply and replace damaged tissue. The review explains that two key cell types basal cells in the airways and alveolar type two cells in the air sacs are especially important because they can renew themselves and turn into other lung cells when needed.
The researchers also describe several smaller backup cell groups that stay quiet during normal life but become active after injury. These cells help patch damaged areas and keep the lungs working properly.
Using Stem Cells to Create Healthy Lung Cells
One of the most exciting advances involves pluripotent stem cells. These are special cells that can be guided to become almost any cell type. Scientists have developed step by step methods to turn them into lung cells by copying how lungs form in unborn babies.
Using these methods researchers can now grow airway cells and air sac cells in the laboratory. These lab grown lung cells behave much like real human lung tissue and can be used to study diseases test new drugs and possibly replace damaged cells in the future.
Testing New Treatments in the Lab and Animals
The review highlights how lab grown lung cells are being used to model diseases such as pulmonary fibrosis viral infections and genetic disorders. These models allow scientists to see how disease develops and how different treatments work in a human like system.
In animal studies transplanted lung cells have shown encouraging results. In several cases the cells survived integrated into lung tissue reduced scarring and even improved breathing measurements. While these studies are still early, they show that cell-based lung repair is possible.
Challenges That Still Need Solving
Despite the progress many challenges remain. Scientists must ensure transplanted cells are safe do not form tumors and stay in the right part of the lung. Large scale production and imm
une rejection are also major hurdles before human treatments can begin.
Conclusions
Overall, the findings show that lung cell therapy is moving from theory toward reality. By understanding natural lung repair and combining it with stem cell technology researchers are building the foundation for future treatments. Although more testing and safety studies are needed these advances offer real hope that damaged lungs may one day be repaired rather than just managed.
The study findings were published in the peer reviewed Journal of Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1155/term/8367426
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Read Also:
https://www.thailandmedical.news/articles/stem-cell-therapies
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