Mesenchymal stromal cell extracellular vesicles improve lung development in mechanically ventilated preterm lambs
Kurt H. Albertine, Andrew Rebentisch, Elaine Dawson, Jakob Van Boerum, Emily Major, Juraj Štipka, Hannah Foreman, David Headden, Zoë Vordos, Emily Beck, Zhengming Wang, Haixia Yang, Baifeng Yu, Mar Janna Dahl, Donald M. Null, Davide Bizzotto, Chiara Veneroni, Anna Lavizzari, Raffaele L. Dellacá, Eleni Delavogia, S. Alex Mitsialis, Stella Kourembanas
Abstract
This study focused on potential treatment of preterm infants at risk of developing bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), for which no effective treatment exists. We tested treatment of mechanically ventilated preterm lambs with human mesenchymal stromal cell extracellular vesicles (MSC-sEVs). The results show improved respiratory gas exchange and parenchymal growth of capillaries and epithelium that are necessary for alveolar formation. Our study provides new mechanistic insight into potential efficacy of MSC-sEVs for preterm infants at risk of developing BPD.