Patients with lung diseases have hope for new treatments in the future due to an advance in adult stem cell research. Embryonic stem cells have once again been trumped by adult stem cells as the advance shows that they continue to be more ethical and effective. Embryonic cells, on the other hand, have not helped any patients and are only obtained by destroying human embryos.

According to a statement released by the University of Minnesota, for the first time, researchers have been able to coax umbilical cord blood stem cells to differentiate into a type of lung cell.

The cord blood cells differentiated into a type of lung cell called type II alveolar cells. The cells allow air sacs in the lungs to remain open (which allows air to move in and out of the sacs) by secreting surfactant.

Helping to repair the airway after injury is another responsibility the cells have.

“In the future, we may be able to examine cord blood from babies who have lung diseases, such as cystic fibrosis, to do more research to understand how these diseases evolve as well as to develop better medical treatments,” said Dr. David, M.D.

David is the medical director of the Clinical Cell Therapy Lab at the University of Minnesota Medical Center and an assistant professor of lab medicine and pathology.

The discovery is a “step toward developing treatment for various lung diseases” David said.

The journal of Cytotherapy will publish David