Growing Human Lungs for Transplant

As a first step toward building human lungs for transplantation, scientists have been able to convert human embryonic stem cells into lung cells.

Scientists at Imperial College London (UK), working with embryonic stem cells, grew them in Petri dishes in the laboratory in a specialized system that encouraged them to change into mature small airway epithelium--the cells that line the part of the lung where oxygen is absorbed and carbon dioxide excreted. The scientists also plan to test the use of stem cells from other sources such as umbilical cord blood and bone marrow.

"This is a very exciting development, and could be a huge step towards being able to build human lungs for transplantation or to repair lungs severely damaged by incurable diseases such as cancer,” said Prof. Julia Polak, of the Imperial College London, who led the research team.

Any commercial development of the group's findings will be assigned to NovaThera (Cambridge, UK), a spinout company of Imperial College London that specializes in pioneering applications of biomaterials and stem cell biology for regenerative medicine and tissue engineering. NovaThera is working to resolve the challenges of stem cell biology and to produce working systems for efficient and reliable large-scale cell production. Using sophisticated bioprocessor technology, the company intends to develop the world's first processes for the practical manufacture of cells for medical use.

"If stem-cell-based therapies are ever to have a significant impact on healthcare, we must abandon the complex, time-consuming and expensive tailor-made route,” noted Gareth Roberts, CEO of NovaThera. "What we need is an ‘off-the-shelf' product capable of scale-up and turning into cell factories to provide material for medical treatments.”

NovaThera and the Imperial College London researchers are working in close collaboration with Novalung GmbH (Hechingen, Germany). Novalung has developed a functionally and artificial membrane lung called the interventional lung assist (iLA), which has received the CE Mark. The company is interested in creating the world's first bio-hybrid lung-assist device. This device would be designed to contain stem-cell-derived lung cells and prolong the life of patients whose lungs have been damaged until they recover or until a donor organ can be found.



Related Links:
Imperial College London
NovaThera