Transplanting lung cells shows promise in treating COPD

Graphic of human lungs

For the first time, researchers have shown it is possible to repair damaged lung tissue in patients with COPD using the patients’ own lung cells.

In findings reported at the European Respiratory Society International Congress in Milan, Italy, researchers from the Tongji University School of Medicine in Shanghai, China, said that 17 patients who took part in a phase 1 clinical trial were able to breathe better, walk further and had better quality of life after receiving the experimental treatment.

Wei Zuo, PhD, professor at Tongji University School of Medicine and chief scientist at Regent Therapeutics Ltd., said the research is looking at a specific type of stem cell called P63+ lung progenitor cells and whether those cells might be able to regenerate lung tissue damaged by COPD.

“Stem cell and progenitor cell-based regenerative medicine may be the biggest, if not the only, hope to cure COPD,” Dr. Zuo said. “P63+ progenitor cells are known for their ability to regenerate the tissues of the airways, and previously we and other scientists have shown in animal experiments that they can repair the damaged epithelial tissue in the alveoli — the tiny air sacs in the lungs that play a crucial role in the exchange of gases between air breathed in and the blood supply to the lungs.”

In the first phase 1 clinical trial, the researchers set out to investigate the efficiency and safety of taking P63+ progenitor cells from the lungs of 20 COPD patients and use them to grow millions more in the laboratory. These were then transplanted back into the patients’ lungs.

Of the 20, 17 were treated this way, with three left untreated as the control group. They were assessed within 24 weeks of treatment. After 12 weeks, the median diffusing capacity of the lungs — which tests how well air is exchanged between the lungs and the bloodstream —increased from 30% before treatment to 39.7%. By 24 weeks, it had increased to 40.3%.

The median distance covered in a six-minute walk distance test increased from 401 meters before treatment to 447 meters at 24 weeks. The median score in a quality-of-life test reduced by seven points, indicating an improvement. In two patients with emphysema the treatment repaired the lung damage.

“We found that P63+ progenitor cell transplantation not only improved the lung function of patients with COPD, but also relieved their symptoms, such as shortness of breath, loss of exercise ability and persistent coughing,” Dr. Zuo said. “This means that the patients could live a better life, and usually with longer life expectancy.”

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