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Publications

Journal Article Ahead of print

PubMed: 42286350 DOI: 10.1093/ajrcmb/aanag126

20 years of Progress in Stem Cells, Cell Therapy, and Bioengineering in Lung Biology and Diseases.

Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol

Authors: Allison M Greaney, Jessica C Orr, Sarah K L Moore, Laertis Ikonomou, Daniel J Weiss, Amy L Ryan

Affiliations

  • Department of Immunobiology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.
  • David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.
  • Epithelial Cell Biology in ENT Research Group, Developmental Biology and Cancer Department, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, University College London, London, UK.
  • Department of Medicine, Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine, Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.
  • Department of Oral Biology, School of Dental Medicine, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, USA.
  • Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, Department of Medicine, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, USA.
  • Department of Medicine, Larner College of Medicine, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, USA.
  • Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA.

Abstract

Over the past two decades there have been remarkable advances in stem cell biology, bioengineering, and lung regenerative research, transforming our understanding of pulmonary biology from development to repair, and disease. Strategies using endogenous lung progenitor cells, pluripotent stem cell technologies, and engineered tissue platforms have become central tools for interrogating lung biology. Major breakthroughs have included the identification of diverse cell populations that coordinate lung homeostasis and repair, facilitated by the extensive adoption of single cell, multiomic and spatialomics approaches. Simultaneous progress in biomaterials, organoid systems, decellularized lung scaffolds, and lung-on-chip platforms has uncovered how extracellular matrix composition, mechanical forces, and tissue architecture contribute to the regulation of cell fate and function. These advances have enabled increasingly physiologically relevant in vitro, and ex vivo models while informing tissue engineering strategies aimed ultimately at functional lung replacement. Translation toward the clinic has advanced through both cell-based and cell-free therapeutic strategies. Early efforts focused largely on mesenchymal stromal cell-based approaches and extracellular vesicles, which have demonstrated safety and context-dependent efficacy in inflammatory lung diseases, alongside emerging preclinical evidence of functional engraftment of induced pluripotent stem cell-derived lung lineages. The past twenty years of progress, captured at the 20th Anniversary Stem Cells, Cell Therapies, and Bioengineering in Lung Biology and Diseases Conference, highlights the power of interdisciplinary collaboration in advancing lung regeneration from foundational discovery toward therapeutic reality.

MeSH

Cells, Lung, Bioengineering, Microscopy, Electron, Scanning Transmission, Pluripotent Stem Cells, Stem Cells, Therapeutics, Tissues