Aging and lung injury repair: a role for bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells.
The incidence of lung fibrosis increases with age. Aging is associated with modifications in the intracellular and extracellular environment including alteration of the extracellular matrix, imbalance of the redox state, accumulation of senescent cells and potential alteration of the recruitment of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells. The combination of these senescence-related alterations in the lung and in bone marrow progenitor cells might be responsible of the higher susceptibility to lung fibrosis in elderly individuals. The understanding of these age related changes must be considered in the rationale for the development of therapeutic interventions to control lung injury and fibrosis.
Mora
Ana L
AL
Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Center for Translational Research in the Lung, McKelvey Center for Lung Transplantation, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, USA.
Rojas
Mauricio
M