Citations should be made in the following way: Authors. Title. Eur Respir J 2015; 46: Suppl. 59, abstract number.
Citations should be made in the following way: Authors. Title. Eur Respir J 2015; 46: Suppl. 59, abstract number.
Regenerative medicine of the lung: opportunities and threats
Hot topicsChairs: Melanie Koenigshoff (Munich, Germany), Reinoud Gosens (Groningen, Netherlands)
Aims: Chronic lung diseases, including COPD, IPF and others, are characterized by loss of lung function. This loss associates with a defective tissue repair response that results in tissue destruction and/or remodelling. The defective tissue repair cannot be modified by current pharmacological or non-pharmacological treatment. To develop therapies that restore normal tissue repair in the lung, it is necessary to gain insights into the mechanisms that regulate repair and the origins of the defective tissue repair response in disease. In this symposium, the mechanisms of tissue repair in and outside the lung, including stem cell activation and renewal, will be discussed. Moreover, therapeutic possibilities that are based on stem and progenitor cell transplantation and activation will be discussed. These therapeutic possibilities include bioscaffolds that can facilitate tissue growth and repair. At the end of the symposium, the audience will understand: the mechanisms behind tissue repair and the role of endogenous stem and progenitor cell populations in repair; how stem and progenitor cells (e.g., iPS cells and macrophage progenitors) can be used for therapeutic purposes in the lung; and how bioscaffolds can facilitate tissue repair, either alone or in combination with exogenous stem or progenitor cell transplantation.
Target audience: This session will be of interest to basic scientists, and clinicians and everyone who has an interest in regenerative medicine of the lung.