Stem cells, cell therapies, and bioengineering in lung biology and diseases 2023

Abstract

Repair and regeneration of a diseased lung using stem cells or bioengineered tissues is an exciting therapeutic approach for a variety of lung diseases and critical illnesses. Over the past decade, increasing evidence from preclinical models suggests that mesenchymal stromal cells, which are not normally resident in the lung, can be used to modulate immune responses after injury, but there have been challenges in translating these promising findings to the clinic. In parallel, there has been a surge in bioengineering studies investigating the use of artificial and acellular lung matrices as scaffolds for three-dimensional lung or airway regeneration, with some recent attempts of transplantation in large animal models. The combination of these studies with those involving stem cells, induced pluripotent stem cell derivatives, and/or cell therapies is a promising and rapidly developing research area. These studies have been further paralleled by significant increases in our understanding of the molecular and cellular events by which endogenous lung stem and/or progenitor cells arise during lung development and participate in normal and pathological remodeling after lung injury. For the 2023 Stem Cells, Cell Therapies, and Bioengineering in Lung Biology and Diseases Conference, scientific symposia were chosen to reflect the most cutting-edge advances in these fields. Sessions focused on the integration of "omics" technologies with function, the influence of immune cells on regeneration, and the role of the extracellular matrix in regeneration. The necessity for basic science studies to enhance fundamental understanding of lung regeneration and to design innovative translational studies was reinforced throughout the conference.

Keywords: airway epithelium; alveolar epithelium; extracellular matrix; immune cells; lung regeneration.

Graphical abstract

Figure 1.

Countries and states represented at the 2023 conference. Pie charts depict geographic location of attendees by country (A) and US state (B).

Figure 2.

Representation of sex, race, and ethnicity at the 2023 conference. A: bar chart shows change in inclusion of underrepresented groups (minorities and women) since the inception of the conference. Pie charts show attendance by sex (B), ethnicity (C), and race (D).