Stem Cells for Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia

Very preterm infants are at high risk to develop to bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) for the lack of effective measures to prevent or ameliorate this common and serious disorder. BPD remains a major cause of mortality and lifelong morbidity in preterm infants

Several studies have shown that transplantation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in immunocompetent animals attenuates lung injury, such as impaired alveolarization, inflammatory response, increased apoptosis, and fibrosis. Human umbilical cord blood (hUCB) is considered a better source of MSCs because of their ready availability and greater proliferative capacity and less antigenicity than other cell types. transplantation of hUCB-derived MSCs should be effective in treating BPD. The safety and efficacy of MSC transplantation for prevention of BPD has not been tested previously, however.