“It’s very encouraging to see a human cord blood stem cell exhibit the ability to turn into a type II alveolar cell,” said David McKenna, M.D., principal investigator of the study, assistant professor of lab medicine and pathology and medical director of the University of Minnesota Medical Center, Fairview’s Clinical Cell Therapy Lab, and BioE research collaborator. “Based on this research, it’s quite possible the MLPC will have utility as a highly functional research tool for studying lung pathophysiology in a human model. We hope to translate this early success with the MLPC into future research breakthroughs that ultimately provide therapeutic benefits to patients suffering from lung injuries and respiratory disease.”
