Symposium: Bioengineering
the Lung: From Myth to Reality
Sponsored by: American
Journal of Physiology: Lung Cellular and Molecular Physiology
Track: Tissue Remodeling and Repair
Date:
Monday, April 28, 2014
Location:
Room 20A, San Diego
Convention Center
Chaired by:
Y.S. Prakash
Kurt R. Stenmark
Diseases that affect the lung and pulmonary vasculature
cause significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. In this regard, conditions
such as COPD, interstitial fibrosis and pulmonary hypertension are particularly
problematic. With no “cures”, clinical management relies on multimodal drug
therapies, rehabilitation and, for end-stage cases, lung transplantation.
Furthermore, conditions such as tracheal stenosis, tumors invading large
extrapulmonary airways, and malformations of larger pulmonary vessels all
require replacement strategies beyond artificial grafts. However,
transplantation of allogeneic lung, airway and vascular tissue is limited by
shortage of donors, graft rejections and long term sequelae of immune
suppression. Organ bioengineering is an exciting and emerging solution, the aim
of which is de novo generation of
tissues and organs for transplantation. However, building complex organs such as the lung,
which need to function immediately and effectively upon transplantation, will
require collaborative, multi-disciplinary research into biocompatible materials
and scaffolds, cellularization of implantable structures (especially using stem
cells), airway, alveolar and vascular mechanics and physiology, and immunology.
The symposium entitled “Bioengineering the Lung: From Myth
to Reality” will bring together leaders in the field of tissue engineering,
regenerative medicine, physiology, and immunology, who will highlight new scientific
advances in our current understanding of some of these key concepts of organ
bioengineering, as well as current challenges to design, implementation and
utilization of engineered lung tissues for transplantation. The symposium will
begin with a discussion of biocompatible scaffold design/production that allow
cellularization while maintaining mechanical properties critical for the
transplanted lung to function (Sarah Gilpin). Here, new biocompatible materials
as well as de-cellularized scaffolds from large animals hold great promise.
These advances in biomaterials will need to be matched by innovative techniques
for cellularization of anatomically appropriate scaffolds, and thus better
understanding of factors that control stem or progenitor cell adhesion,
migration, differentiation and survival (Daniel Weiss). Subsequently,
mechanical forces resulting from repetitive lung inflation/deflation and blood
flow pulsatility in vascular homeostasis become important for the
bioengineering organ to withstand forces within the chest cavity following
transplantation, without collapse, injury or failure of blood and gas exchange.
From an integrative physiology perspective, a functional bioengineered lung
will be the test of successful collaborative research. Exciting advances in
“putting together” a bioengineered lung (Panoskaltsis-Mortari) will be
discussed.
Finally, the “proof” will be in the “pudding” of surgical
and clinical reality of when and whether a fully functional bioengineered lung
can be placed into humans. There is certainly no consensus regarding the
reality, reliability and applicability of bioengineered lungs. An outstanding
way to put forth this concept is a lively debate stimulated by asking the
question: is lung bioengineering myth or reality (Bhattacharya).
This
symposium will appeal to a wide audience of anatomists, cell/molecular
biologists, physiologists, and biomedical engineers. The appeal for researchers
and clinicians in pulmonary physiology and medicine is clear. The talks are intended
to provide translational bridges between diverse, yet collaborative, areas that
are fundamental to advancing this field. The symposium will also highlight an
ongoing Call for Papers on this topic by Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol,
helping to enhance contribution of FASEB members from different societies to
APS journals.
8:00 AM
Decellularized
scaffolds for tissue engineering.
Sarah Gilpin.
Massachusetts
Gen. Hosp.
8:30 AM
Stem cells in bioengineering the lung.
Daniel
J. Weiss.
Univ. of
Vermont
9:00 AM
The bioengineered lung: putting it all together.
Angela Panoskaltsis-Mortari.
Univ. of
Minnesota
9:30 AM
Bioengineered lung: myth or reality?
Jahar Bhattacharya.
Columbia
Univ.
