trigger generation of new lung alveoli
In the Oct. 28 issue of the journal Cell, the research team reports that they have uncovered the biochemical signals in mice that trigger generation of new lung alveoli, the numerous, tiny, grape-like sacs within the lung where oxygen exchange takes place. Specifically, the regenerative signals originate from the specialized endothelial cells that line the interior of blood vessels in the lung.
While it has long been known that mice can regenerate and expand the capacity of one lung if the other is missing, this study now identifies molecular triggers behind this process, and the researchers believe these findings are relevant to humans.
"Several adult human organs have the potential upon injury to regenerate to a degree, and while we can readily monitor the pathways involved in the regeneration of liver and bone marrow, it is much more cumbersome to study the regeneration of other adult organs, such as the lung and heart," says the study's lead investigator, Dr. Shahin Rafii, who is the Arthur B. Belfer Professor of Genetic Medicine and co-director of the Ansary Stem Cell Institute at Weill Cornell Medical College.
"It is speculated, but not proven, that humans have the potential to regenerate their lung alveoli until they can't anymore, due to smoking, cancer, or other extensive chronic damage," says Dr. Rafii, who is also an investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. "Our hope is to take these findings into the clinic and see if we can induce lung regeneration in patients who need it, such as those with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)."
"There is no effective therapy for patients diagnosed with COPD. Based on this study, I envision a day when patients with COPD and other chronic lung diseases may benefit from treatment with factors derived from lung blood vessels that induce lung regeneration," states Dr. Ronald G. Crystal, who is a co-author of this study and professor of pulmonary and genetic medicine at Weill Cornell.
Monday, October 31, 2011
Stem cells used to regenerate lungs?
Stem cells used to regenerate lungs?
Working together, scientists and clinicians make research breakthrough that paves the way for novel therapies for respiratory diseases
"We have harvested these "pods" to provide insight into genes and secreted factors that likely represent key components in tissue regeneration.
These secreted factors might be used as biological drugs (biologics) to enhance regeneration of the lung and airways," said Dr Frank McKeon, Senior Group Leader of the Stem Cell and Developmental Biology at GIS.
The research was jointly led by Dr Frank McKeon from GIS and Dr Wa Xian from IMB in collaboration with scientists at the National University of Singapore (NUS), and clinicians at the Harvard Medical School and the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston.
Prof Birgitte Lane, Executive Director of IMB, said, "This groundbreaking work is a fine example of collaborative research, which has brought us new insight into lung epithelial stem cells. This will have breakthrough consequences in many areas." Dr Edison Liu, Executive Director of GIS, added, "We will continue to seek impactful collaborations and build upon this research area where there is a need for novel therapies, which will offer hope for patients suffering from respiratory diseases."
click to read more on this adance in lung therapy in lung regeneration
Working together, scientists and clinicians make research breakthrough that paves the way for novel therapies for respiratory diseases
Scientists at A*STAR'S Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS) and Institute of Molecular Biology (IMB), have made a breakthrough discovery in the understanding of lung regeneration. Their research showed for the first time that distal airway stem cells (DASCs), a specific type of stem cells in the lungs, are involved in forming new alveoli to replace and repair damaged lung tissue, providing a firm foundation for understanding lung regeneration.
Lung damage is caused by a wide range of lung diseases including influenza infections and chronic respiratory diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Influenza infection induces acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) which affects more than 150,000 patients a year in the US, with a death rate of up to 50 percent. COPD is the fifth biggest killer worldwide.
The team took a novel approach in tackling the question of lung regeneration. They cloned adult stem cells taken from three different parts of the lungs - nasal epithelial stem cells (NESCs), tracheal airway stem cells (TASCs) and distal airway stem cells (DASCs). Despite the three types of cells being nearly 99 percent genetically identical, the team made the surprising observation that only DASCs formed alveoli when cloned in vitro.
"We are the first researchers to demonstrate that adult stem cells are intrinsically committed and will only differentiate into the specific cell type they originated from. In this case, only DASCs formed alveoli because alveolar cells are found in the distal airways, not in the nasal epithelial or tracheal airway", said Dr Wa Xian, Principal Investigator at IMB. "This is a big advancement in the understanding of adult stem cells that will encourage further research into their potential for regenerative medicine."
Using a mouse model of influenza, the team showed that after infection, DASCs rapidly grow and migrate to influenza-damaged lung areas where they form "pods". These "pods" mature to new alveoli which replace the alveoli that were destroyed by the infection, leading to lung regeneration.
Lung damage is caused by a wide range of lung diseases including influenza infections and chronic respiratory diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Influenza infection induces acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) which affects more than 150,000 patients a year in the US, with a death rate of up to 50 percent. COPD is the fifth biggest killer worldwide.
The team took a novel approach in tackling the question of lung regeneration. They cloned adult stem cells taken from three different parts of the lungs - nasal epithelial stem cells (NESCs), tracheal airway stem cells (TASCs) and distal airway stem cells (DASCs). Despite the three types of cells being nearly 99 percent genetically identical, the team made the surprising observation that only DASCs formed alveoli when cloned in vitro.
"We are the first researchers to demonstrate that adult stem cells are intrinsically committed and will only differentiate into the specific cell type they originated from. In this case, only DASCs formed alveoli because alveolar cells are found in the distal airways, not in the nasal epithelial or tracheal airway", said Dr Wa Xian, Principal Investigator at IMB. "This is a big advancement in the understanding of adult stem cells that will encourage further research into their potential for regenerative medicine."
Using a mouse model of influenza, the team showed that after infection, DASCs rapidly grow and migrate to influenza-damaged lung areas where they form "pods". These "pods" mature to new alveoli which replace the alveoli that were destroyed by the infection, leading to lung regeneration.
"We have harvested these "pods" to provide insight into genes and secreted factors that likely represent key components in tissue regeneration.
These secreted factors might be used as biological drugs (biologics) to enhance regeneration of the lung and airways," said Dr Frank McKeon, Senior Group Leader of the Stem Cell and Developmental Biology at GIS.
The research was jointly led by Dr Frank McKeon from GIS and Dr Wa Xian from IMB in collaboration with scientists at the National University of Singapore (NUS), and clinicians at the Harvard Medical School and the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston.
Prof Birgitte Lane, Executive Director of IMB, said, "This groundbreaking work is a fine example of collaborative research, which has brought us new insight into lung epithelial stem cells. This will have breakthrough consequences in many areas." Dr Edison Liu, Executive Director of GIS, added, "We will continue to seek impactful collaborations and build upon this research area where there is a need for novel therapies, which will offer hope for patients suffering from respiratory diseases."
click to read more on this adance in lung therapy in lung regeneration
Sunday, October 30, 2011
UK HealthCare surgeons first to perform novel procedure for transplant patient
UK HealthCare surgeons first to perform novel procedure for transplant patient
The patient “feels like a miracle,” after surgeons at UK HealthCare recently became the first ever to perform two specific procedures together as a bridge to lung transplantation.
Wanda Craig of Lexington is the first patient in history to receive these procedures, and at the age of 68, she is also the oldest living human to be bridged to transplant using an artificial lung device, also known as an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO).
For more than 10 years, Craig has been treated for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and emphysema, getting oxygen assistance on an almost continual basis. In November 2010, her condition worsened and she was unable to do her usual everyday activities.
“I realized that things were really taking a turn for the worst when I was so out of breath from walking to the kitchen and didn’t have enough energy to even scoop ice cream out of the carton,” said Craig.
After being hospitalized and then transferred to the University of Kentucky Albert B. Chandler Hospital due to the severity of her case, Craig underwent the ECMO and heart procedures that saved her life.
“I feel like a miracle,” Craig said. “I feel like I owe so much to UK and the medical staff here.”
And a miracle she is – in more ways than one.
“Mrs. Craig, although treated for COPD and emphysema, actually suffered from pulmonary hypertension and when her situation became more severe that caused the right half of her heart to fail as the heart tried to work harder to get the oxygen it needed,” said Dr. Charles Hoopes, UK HealthCare’s new director of the UK Heart and Lung Transplant Program and the director of the Ventricular Assist Device (VAD) Program. “When the right side of the heart fails — called right ventricular failure — the blood cannot go through the lungs to fill the left side of the heart…with an empty left side of the heart there is less blood to pump to the body and the patient develops heart failure symptoms. This is not uncommon in end-stage lung disease.”
This is a major complication for many patients on the lung transplant waiting list. So, to circumvent this problem, Hoopes and Dr. Enrique Diaz, UK’s medical director of the lung transplant program, completed a procedure called an atrial septostomy, in which a small hole is created between the upper two chambers of the heart. This procedure, combined with the use of an ECMO, allowed the blood to receive oxygen from an artificial lung device.
“These procedures are novel in terms of a bridge to transplantation, and the use of an artificial lung together with an atrial septostomy for cases of respiratory and right ventricular failure have not been performed together until now,” said Diaz.
“I immediately felt better the morning after my surgery and was able to walk 75 feet after less than 24 hours,” said Craig.
After only three days after the initial procedure, a new set of lungs became available for Craig and she underwent a double lung transplant.
“Because of her age, we were apprehensive about the ECMO procedure and lung transplant, however she proved to us that she is not the typical 68-year-old woman,” Hoopes said.
Proudly boasting about her two children, 3 grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren, Craig said they were her motivation to keep going and try and get better as fast as possible.
After being discharged from the hospital, Wanda and her husband celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary, and said that this experience has brought them closer together and helped their entire family appreciate the life and time they have together. After spending several holidays in the hospital over the past eight months, she is thankful she was able to be home for her milestone anniversary.
“More than anything I am looking forward to doing those normal everyday things like going to the grocery store and watching my grandson’s T-ball games,” Craig said. “And scooping my own ice cream. I could not have made it through this without the support and prayers from my family and friends.
“The care given to me while in the hospital was superb, and I’m thankful for my pulmonary physician that transferred me to UK HealthCare before it was too late for any lifesaving efforts. I’m also thankful for my donor family. I would not be here today without the knowledge of Dr. Hoopes and Dr. Diaz, and the entire transplant team. They took me under their wings in spite of all the risk involved – I will be in their debt the rest of my life.”
From UKNow
UK healthcare surgeons first to perform novel procedure for transplant patient
Saturday, October 29, 2011
COPD Awareness Month in November
COPD Awareness Month in November
We're gearing up for COPD Awareness Month in November with numerous activities and news to share with you!
First, we discuss our support of DRIVE4COPD's Great American Screen Off on November 4th, as well as our "COPD Week at the ATS" from November 13th-19th, including a webinar we'll be hosting on November 16th--World COPD Day.
Other stories in this issue:
- A template that opposes Medicare spending cuts which members of the COPD community can utilize to write to their local representative.
- The U.S. COPD Coalition's Congressional Briefing in October that featured DRIVE4COPD Celebrity Ambassador Danica Patrick, who announced their "Go Orange" Resolution, declaring it the official color for COPD awareness.
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Friday, October 28, 2011
to develop an artificial lung
Martine Rothblatt, CEO of Silver Spring-based United Therapeutics, was one at Friday’s public hearing in College Park who favored Miller’s merger proposal. Rothblatt said a merger would give his company an easier time working with UMB and College Park researchers to develop an artificial lung the company is working on, and could save the company years producing one.
For Rothblatt, the scenario seemed clear — work with two “partially capable” partners, or one fully capable partner, he said.
“We can work with two partially capable partners in Baltimore and one in College Park,” Rothblatt said. “I think the job will eventually get done, but it will take longer.
That translates into 10s of thousands of lives.”
Proponents think a merger would form a top-10 research university and could drive additional research dollars to the state.
For Rothblatt, the scenario seemed clear — work with two “partially capable” partners, or one fully capable partner, he said.
“We can work with two partially capable partners in Baltimore and one in College Park,” Rothblatt said. “I think the job will eventually get done, but it will take longer.
That translates into 10s of thousands of lives.”
Proponents think a merger would form a top-10 research university and could drive additional research dollars to the state.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Man-made lungs ?
Man-made lungs
Man-made lungs are already a reality. A device called the NovaLung is being tested worldwide to help patients struck down by life-threatening asthma attacks and pneumonia, as well as those awaiting a lung transplant.The size of a CD case, it is plumbed into the body’s circulation through blood vessels in the legs. It has a high-tech membrane that filters out carbon dioxide from the blood before allowing the blood to flow back into the body, where it gets resupplied with oxygen by the lungs.
The filtering process, called gas exchange, is normally carried out by the lungs. But if they are malfunctioning, they are unable to extract the carbon dioxide and the body’s vital organs become starved of oxygen and begin to shut down. The NovaLung needs to remove only relatively small amounts of blood at a time to keep the body supplied with oxygen. It is not intended as a permanent replacement, but it could last for months, or even years, by replacing the membrane inside.
AVAILABLE: Now — the NovaLung has already been used in Britain.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2052995/Eyelids-ovaries-Bionic-spare-parts-new-lease-life.html#ixzz1bu3Yf0U4
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
CHEST medical journal
CHEST
The official publication of the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP). For specialists in pulmonology, critical care, sleep medicine, thoracic surgery, cardiorespiratory interactions, and related disciplines.
The official publication of the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP). For specialists in pulmonology, critical care, sleep medicine, thoracic surgery, cardiorespiratory interactions, and related disciplines.
visit this website for more info on pulmonary info / data Chest medical Journals
http://chestjournal.chestpubs.org/
New meds for COPD coming ?
Tobacco consumption such as cigarette smoking is already known to cause a number of negative impacts on health as well as diseases including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The COPD is a severe health condition along with chronic bronchitis and emphysema. The disease sufferers are likely to experience complications in breathing and depend on artificial supply of oxygen. Countless people die because of the disease, across the world.
Simultaneously, the study pinpointed attributes of an enzyme nitric oxide syntheses and claimed that iNOS is empowered to fluctuate levels of blood pressure and can introduce some deviations in pulmonary blood vessels to cause emphysema.
“It’s a very well designed study executed to a high technical standard but we need to have some serious reservations about translation to humans”, explained an expert from the University of Melbourne’s Lung Disease Research Group, Professor Gary Anderson, while hailing people to be cautious.
In addition, Professor Anderson claimed that scientists are looking forward to generate a new medication that can be used to improve the health condition of emphysema sufferers. He also emphasized on the need of more research to estimate its impact on humans and notified that mice are blessed with higher capacity for regeneration, unfortunately humans lack this ability.
Sunday, October 2, 2011
about me and this artificial lung blog
I have severe emphysema from smoking for over 40 years, that's why I created this blog.
My hope is to collect any and all info on progress made toward a artificial lung.
Some of the data you may have seen before, but I am only trying to promote wider research on using artificial lung as an option fro lung diseases.
Emphysema is a progressive disease I am am praying that some day I will be able to get an artificial lung.
My hope is to collect any and all info on progress made toward a artificial lung.
Some of the data you may have seen before, but I am only trying to promote wider research on using artificial lung as an option fro lung diseases.
Emphysema is a progressive disease I am am praying that some day I will be able to get an artificial lung.
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Lab-Grown Lungs ?
A rat lung today, a human one tomorrow
Lab-Grown Lungs
Biomedical engineers have built many types of human organs in the lab, but, until recently, they've lagged on lung tissue. Two studies last year demonstrated very different approaches to the process. One research team has grown an artificial lung from harvested rat lung tissue and successfully implanted the new lung into a live rat.
According to Nature.com, "the study provides proof of principle that such regenerated tissue may one day be used to treat patients with serious lung disorders." Another research team has created a different kind of lab-built lung, called lung-on-a-chip, that mimics a living, breathing human lung on a microchip. The device, made using human lung and blood vessel cells, acts similar to a lung in a human body and is intended to be used as an in vitro model system for testing drugs or the toxic effects of a variety of substances without the use of animal models. Both lab-grown versions of lungs could one day serve as a way to sidestep animal testing and organ transplantation.
Researchers successfully grew a rat lung in a laboratory.
A rat lung today, a human one tomorrow
see more info on A rat lung today, a human one tomorrow
http://www.yaledailynews.com/news/2010/sep/01/rat-lung-today-human-one-tomorrow/
Lab-Grown Lungs
Biomedical engineers have built many types of human organs in the lab, but, until recently, they've lagged on lung tissue. Two studies last year demonstrated very different approaches to the process. One research team has grown an artificial lung from harvested rat lung tissue and successfully implanted the new lung into a live rat.
According to Nature.com, "the study provides proof of principle that such regenerated tissue may one day be used to treat patients with serious lung disorders." Another research team has created a different kind of lab-built lung, called lung-on-a-chip, that mimics a living, breathing human lung on a microchip. The device, made using human lung and blood vessel cells, acts similar to a lung in a human body and is intended to be used as an in vitro model system for testing drugs or the toxic effects of a variety of substances without the use of animal models. Both lab-grown versions of lungs could one day serve as a way to sidestep animal testing and organ transplantation.
Researchers successfully grew a rat lung in a laboratory.
A rat lung today, a human one tomorrow
see more info on A rat lung today, a human one tomorrow
http://www.yaledailynews.com/news/2010/sep/01/rat-lung-today-human-one-tomorrow/
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