美國研究人員5月11日說，已確認可自我更新的人體肺干細胞，或許能夠為治療慢性肺病提供幫助。

先前一些研究顯示，研究人員可以借助人體胚胎干細胞培育肺細胞。不過，這次獲得確認的肺干細胞來自經由外科分離的成人肺組織。研究成果論文刊載于美國《新英格蘭醫學雜志》（NEJM）周刊。

論文作者之一、美國布里格姆再生藥物研究中心負責人皮耶羅·安韋薩告訴法新社記者：“這項研究*次描述了真正的肺干細胞。”

“這一干細胞的發現向那些慢性肺病患者提供潛在治療選擇，可使肺部再生或修復肺部受損區域。”

安韋薩說，之所以稱這次發現的細胞為真正肺干細胞，原因包括這些細胞可以自我更新、可以形成各種不同形式的肺細胞。

另一名論文作者約瑟夫·洛斯卡爾佐說：“這是至關重要的*步，以研發臨床治療手段，幫助那些肺病無法得到治療的患者。”

“我們還需要進一步研究，但這一發現能夠影響我們再生或再造肺組織的能力，從而替換那些破損的區域，”洛斯卡爾佐說，“這令我們興奮。”

推薦原文出處：

N Engl J Med 2011; 364:1795-1806

Evidence for Human Lung Stem Cells

Jan Kajstura, Ph.D., Marcello Rota, Ph.D., Sean R. Hall, Ph.D., Toru Hosoda, M.D., Ph.D., Domenico D'Amario, M.D., Fumihiro Sanada, M.D., Hanqiao Zheng, M.D., Barbara Ogórek, Ph.D., Carlos Rondon-Clavo, M.D., Jo?o Ferreira-Martins, M.D., Alex Matsuda, M.D., Christian Arranto, M.D., Polina Goichberg, Ph.D., Giovanna Giordano, M.D., Kathleen J. Haley, M.D., Silvana Bardelli, Ph.D., Hussein Rayatzadeh, M.D., Xiaoli Liu, M.D., Ph.D., Federico Quaini, M.D., Ronglih Liao, Ph.D., Annarosa Leri

Background Although progenitor cells have been described in distinct anatomical regions of the lung, description of resident stem cells has remained elusive. Methods Surgical lung-tissue specimens were studied in situ to identify and characterize human lung stem cells. We defined their phenotype and functional properties in vitro and in vivo. Results Human lungs contain undifferentiated human lung stem cells nested in niches in the distal airways. These cells are self-renewing, clonogenic, and multipotent in vitro. After injection into damaged mouse lung in vivo, human lung stem cells form human bronchioles, alveoli, and pulmonary vessels integrated structurally and functionally with the damaged organ. The formation of a chimeric lung was confirmed by detection of human transcripts for epithelial and vascular genes. In addition, the self-renewal and long-term proliferation of human lung stem cells was shown in serial-transplantation assays. Conclusions Human lungs contain identifiable stem cells. In animal models, these cells participate in tissue homeostasis and regeneration. They have the undemonstrated potential to promote tissue restoration in patients with lung disease. （Funded by the National Institutes of Health.）