Stem cells could offer hope for patients with lung damage from COPD and asthma

In a collaboration between Imperial College London and Hong Kong University (HKU), scientists have shown that the stem cells can reduce some of the damage seen in human lung cells exposed to cigarette smoke in the lab, as well as reducing similar effects in the lungs of mice.

Further trials will be needed but according to the researchers, the findings could pave the way for a cell-based therapy for patients with chronic lung diseases like COPD and asthma.

COPD (Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) is a severe respiratory condition largely linked with cigarette smoking. In patients with the condition, the gradual stiffening of tissue and loss of fine structure leads to a drop in the overall volume of the lung, making it increasingly difficult for them to breath.

One of the hallmarks of the disease is damage to the mitochondria, the power-producing units of cells, which become damaged from oxidative stress.

Cellular damage

In a recent paper, published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, a team led by Dr Pank Bhavsar and Professor Fan Chung, from Imperial’s National Heart and Lung Institute, investigated the effect of cigarette smoke on smooth muscle cells taken from human lungs.

They observed that in tissue exposed to cigarette smoke – which contains free radicals which can damage cells through oxidative stress – mitochondria became more sluggish and less efficient at producing energy. These damaged cells were also more likely to commit cellular suicide, in a process called programmed cell death, or apoptosis.