The Journal of thoracic and cardiovascular surgery
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J. Thorac. Cardiovasc. Surg. · Jul 2023
Intra-tracheally injected human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived pneumocytes and endothelial cells engraft in the distal lung and ameliorate emphysema in a rat model.
Pulmonary emphysema is characterized by the destruction of alveolar units and reduced gas exchange capacity. In the present study, we aimed to deliver induced pluripotent stem cell-derived endothelial cells and pneumocytes to repair and regenerate distal lung tissue in an elastase-induced emphysema model. ⋯ Our findings suggest that human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived distal lung cells can engraft in emphysematous lungs and participate in the formation of functional distal lung units to ameliorate the progression of emphysema.