A new study on human lungs shows promising signs that damaged lungs may be able to be regenerated or reconditioned so that they can accept transplanted lungs. These findings may provide hope to patients inflicted with serious lung disorders, including lung cancer, lung donor, mesothelioma, asbestosis and other conditions.
Background on Lung Donor Problems
Individuals with end-stage lung disease and other serious lung conditions may only have one hope for lifesaving treatment: a transplant. However, healthy lungs are in short supply. Currently, approximately 80 percent of donated lungs are rejected because of serious flaws in them. Since the 1960s, doctors and researchers have tried to find ways to increase this supply to no avail. However, some of the issues in damaged lungs may be reversible, according to a new study. These lungs are not suitable for clinical use, but researchers from a multidisciplinary team from Columbia University in New York City and Vanderbilt University have conducted extensive research on a study on the possibility of regenerating damaged lungs in order to increase the supply of lungs available for transplant.
Approach for the New Study
One limitation on current methods of providing transplants is that the process only allows for up to six or eight hours for recovery. This is an inadequate amount of time necessary to regenerate a damaged lung and improve its function. As part of the new study, researchers created a cross-circulation platform that allows the donor lung to maintain its function and viability, as well as the recipient’s stability for 36 to 56 hours. The rationale behind this method is to allow for extra time so that the donor lung could be repaired and regenerated and then transplanted into the patient. The team used a system they developed in a previous study with new therapies to test out their theories.
About the Team
The team consisted of individuals from Columbia Engineering and Vanderbilt University, including bioengineers, surgeons, pathologists and pulmonologists. The team previously conducted a study that demonstrated that a cross-circulation platform could maintain the viability and function of a donor lung for 36 hours. The team was able to design a durable physiologic support system that allowed potentially viable organs to live outside the body for this extended period of time. They used this system to fully recover lung functionality that had been harmed by restricted blood supply in order to make them suitable for transplant.
Study Findings
The researchers behind this groundbreaking study report that the study is actually a culmination of different research and methods developed over seven years related to lung bioengineering that has resulted in a system able to recover lungs that have been severely damaged. The group also developed noninvasive ways to evaluate the regenerating lung.
The researchers tested the methods on lungs that were affected by the most common condition that leads to the rejection of a lung. Researchers found that lungs that are injured because of this condition can be maintained outside the body for multiple days.
They can then undergo multiple series of treatments, during which time their cells can regenerate and function can improve. The lungs were amenable to repeated therapeutic interventions. After these tests were completed, researchers found that the regenerated lungs met all necessary criteria for transplantation.
The study was published in the Nature Communications journal on May 7. The next step is to determine the functioning of the regenerated lungs after transplant, which will be completed on large animals.
Potential Application of the Technology
Researchers anticipate being able to increase the supply of lungs that are suitable for clinical use through the use of their technology and methods. They also believe that they may be able to use the same technology to regenerate other damaged organs, such as hearts, livers and kidneys so that these donor pools can also be enlarged. If the researchers find that the technology will help individuals with lung disease and make the treatment available to human patients, individuals with lung conditions like mesothelioma may have a viable life-saving treatment plan since this technology would potentially allow them to obtain new lungs. However, this is not yet an option. Patients who have been diagnosed with mesothelioma early on are more likely to have the disease isolated to a specific part of their body, so they would make the best test subjects for this type of medical treatment.
While mesothelioma does not currently have a cure, important advances are continuing to be made, so it is important for patients with this condition to keep hope for new innovations. Treatment is expensive but can help extend a patient’s lifetime, so it is important for them to investigate possible legal avenues to pursue the compensation they need for their treatment.
