Lab-Grown Lungs Mature In Mice

Researchers have successfully transplanted lab-grown mini lungs into mice where the structures were able to survive, grow and mature. In many ways, the transplanted mini lungs were indistinguishable from human adult tissues. Respiratory diseases account for nearly one in five deaths worldwide, and lung cancer survival rates remain poor despite numerous therapeutic advances during the past 30 years. The numbers highlight the need for new, physiologically relevant models for translational lung research. Lab-grown lungs can help because they provide a human model to screen drugs, understand gene function, and generate transplantable tissue and study complex human diseases, such as asthma. Several initial strategies to transplant the mini lungs into mice were unsuccessful.