Lung Organoids News and Research

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Growing mini-organs from amniotic fluid to treat conditions before birth

A pioneering approach, developed by researchers at UCL and Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH), means human development can be observed in late pregnancy for the first time, raising the possibility of monitoring and treating congenital conditions before birth.

5 Mar 2024

How immune cells shape our earliest breaths

Study profiles the development of immune cells in human lungs during embryonic and fetal stages, revealing their influence on epithelial cell fate and lung development.

1 Jan 2024

New cell culture model generates the alveolar macrophage in the lab

Researchers at Texas Biomedical Research Institute have succeeded in generating the lung's most important immune cell, the alveolar macrophage, in the lab.

12 Jun 2023

Pulmonary surfactant-mediated inflammatory response against SARS-CoV-2

Researchers discuss the role of a surfactant-mediated inflammatory response employed by human lungs against SARS-CoV-2.

3 Feb 2023

Study offers insight into the basic cellular pathologies driving interstitial lung disease

While most people recover from COVID-19 within a week or two, up to one-third of survivors experience persistent or new symptoms weeks and months after initial infection.

21 Jul 2022

Natural immunity weak and short-lived in unvaccinated after Omicron infection

In a recent study posted to the journal Nature, researchers showed that the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Omicron infection without SARS-CoV-2 vaccination conferred poor cross-variant neutralizing capacities.

20 May 2022

How have human organoids been used in research to study SARS-CoV-2?

In a recent review published in the journal Organoids, scientists have presented an overview on the use of human stem cell-derived organoids in understanding functionality and cellular tropism of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-Cov-2), a deadly beta-coronavirus responsible for the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

7 Mar 2022

hAELVi cell infection model mimics SARS-CoV-2 Omicron infection in lower respiratory tract of humans

In a recent study posted to the Research Square* preprint server, which is under consideration at Scientific Reports, a team of researchers developed a novel human Alveolar Epithelial Lentivirus immortalized (hAELVi) cell infection model to estimate the replication potential of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and other respiratory viruses in the lower respiratory tract of humans.

23 Feb 2022

Study suggests spike mutation makes SARS-CoV-2 Omicron milder

The Omicron spike is relatively poorly cleaved and impaired in mediating cell-cell fusion and syncytia formation, contrary to predictions.

28 Dec 2021

New Omicron variant may be better at evading vaccine-induced antibodies, research shows

The Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 may be significantly better than previous variants at evading vaccine-induced antibodies, according to new research from Cambridge - but preliminary evidence suggests it is less likely to cause severe COVID-19 illness in the lungs.

20 Dec 2021

Researchers develop adult lung organoids that represent all cell types

Since the COVID-19 pandemic reached the United States in early 2020, scientists have struggled to find laboratory models of SARS-CoV-2 infection, the respiratory virus that causes COVID-19. Animal models fell short; attempts to grow adult human lungs have historically failed because not all of the cell types survived.

31 Aug 2021

Researchers develop brain organoids that show neural activity similar to living human brains

Researchers at the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at UCLA have developed brain organoids -; 3D, brain-like structures grown from human stem cells -; that show organized waves of activity similar to those found in living human brains.

24 Aug 2021

What is the potential of microphysiological systems in COVID-19 research?

In a recently published review article in the journal Drug Discovery Today, scientists have described the utility of human-based microphysiological systems MPSs in understanding the pathophysiology of SARS-CoV-2 infection and developing effective therapeutic interventions. Moreover, they have described the establishment of a global working group to synchronize recent developments around MPSs and COVID-19 research.

3 Aug 2021

Combination of interferon-α and nafamostat inhibits SARS-CoV-2 in vivo

A new study, released as a preprint on bioRxiv* server, shows that a combination of the biological interferon-α and the small molecule nafamostat are effective against SARS-CoV-2 infection in vitro, as well as in vivo.

18 Jun 2021

ErbB inhibitor lapatinib exhibits potent anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity

A team of scientists from the USA and Belgium has recently revealed that the ErbB family of receptor tyrosine kinases play a vital role in regulating severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) lifecycle in host cells and that inhibition of these receptors can protect against SARS-CoV-2-induced acute and chronic lung injuries and inflammation.

18 May 2021

Researcher find an emergent SARS-CoV-2 variant in California

Researchers have found a new SARS-CoV-2 variant in California, USA. This variant is more transmissible than circulating strains but slightly less transmissible than the new N501Y variant and moderately resistant to antibodies in convalescent sera and mRNA vaccines.

10 Mar 2021

SARS-CoV-2 does not infect the entire body in the same way, finds study

COVID-19, the disease caused by the pandemic coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, is primarily regarded as a respiratory infection. Yet the virus has also become known for affecting other parts of the body in ways not as well understood, sometimes with longer-term consequences, such as heart arrhythmia, fatigue and "brain fog."

24 Feb 2021

Corning to highlight newest products in 3D cell culture portfolio at SLAS2021

Corning Incorporated will highlight its latest technologies that support the advancement of 3D cell culture, automation, and drug discovery at this year's virtual Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening (SLAS) conference on Jan. 25 through 27.

22 Jan 2021

Synthetic lung organoids provide high-throughput platform to identify new cellular targets of SARS-CoV-2

An interesting new study published on the bioRxiv preprint server describes a new platform that allows a high-throughput workflow to generate matched human lung buds in the tens of thousands. This allows researchers to study SARS-CoV-2 infection and therapeutics in lung tissue that mirrors the key aspects of human lung development.

10 Jan 2021

Baricitinib drug can reduce mortality in patients with moderate to severe COVID-19

The rheumatoid arthritis drug baricitinib can block viral entry and reduce mortality in patients with moderate to severe COVID-19, according to translational research by an international team coordinated by researchers from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden.

16 Nov 2020