Transplantation Artificial lung from the laboratory successfully transplanted for the first time

Can we get a new lung from the lab in the future??

Worldwide, patients in many countries are waiting for a lung transplant and there are simply no donor lungs to meet this need. In the future, patients could get their new lungs out of the lab.

Scientists at the University of Texas Medical Branch and the internationally recognized Harvard University have now developed biotechnological lungs that could be used as organs for lung transplantation. The physicians published the results of their research work in the English language journal "Science Translational Medicine".

Some people have severe problems with their lungs that require a transplant. But there is a bottleneck in donations. In the future, artificially bred lungs could make waiting lists for donor lungs obsolete and give every patient a suitable lung. (Image: artstudio_pro / fotolia.com)

Transplantation into pigs has already been successful

In their current research, the researchers have achieved a true milestone on the way to producing lungs in human labs. They successfully transplanted biotechnological lungs into pigs. To grow the lungs, the researchers first created four so-called lung scaffolds. For this they removed all cells and blood from the lungs of pigs. Only the proteins of each lung remained, explain the experts. Next, they placed each scaffold in a tank containing a special mix of nutrients. They then added cells from the lungs of recipient pigs to each of the scaffolds and allowed the lungs to grow for 30 days. Finally, they transplanted the four laboratory-grown lungs into the four recipient pigs. Within two weeks, the transplanted lungs had already begun building the robust networks of blood vessels they needed to survive.

Further research is needed

During the two-month post-transplant observation, researchers found no evidence that the animals' immune system had rejected the new lungs. The experts are now planning to investigate the long-term viability of the organs.

Biotechnical organs the holy grail of transplantation?

Biotechnical organs are a kind of holy grail in transplantation research. Because they come from the cells of the recipient, the body is less likely to reject the organ. In addition, new organs can be bred in the laboratory if necessary. In other words, development means there will be no organ shortages in the future.

When will lungs created in the laboratory become available to humans??

If the experiments on the pigs proceed as hoped, the researchers believe that they could only be five to ten years away from creating lab-grown lungs to transplant into people with life-threatening conditions. Finally, biotechnical lungs could completely replace the donor cells. And that could make the waiting list for transplants a thing of the past. (As)