National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute perspective: lung progenitor and stem cells--gaps in knowledge and future opportunities.
Because the lung stem cell field is so new, there remain many unanswered questions that are being addressed regarding the identification, location, and role of exogenous and endogenous stem and progenitor cell populations in growth, regeneration, and repair of the lung. Advancing lung stem cell biology will require multidisciplinary teams and a long term effort to unravel the biologic processes of stem cells in the lung. While no clinical research in lung stem cell therapies are currently funded by NHLBI, the knowledge gained by understanding the basic biology of the lung stem cell populations will be needed to translate to diagnostic and therapeutic strategies in the future.
Blaisdell
Carol J
CJ
National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, USA. blaisdellcj@nhlbi.nih.gov
Gail
Dorothy B
DB
Nabel
Elizabeth G
EG
D008168:Lung / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology*; D054555:National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (U.S.); D012038:Regeneration / Q000502:physiology*; D012109:Research Support as Topic / Q000191:economics; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology*; D014481:United States