Main description:

This book presents a comprehensive overview of the current understanding of the organization of endogenous lung stem and progenitor cell compartments during fetal lung development, postnatal lung growth and in adulthood. Progressing stage by stage, the chapters on fetal lung development emphasize the integrated role of epithelial, stromal, vascular and neural cell elements in building a functional lung, while the subsequent chapters on adult lung regeneration describe the nature and properties of adult lung stem/progenitor cells distributed along the proximal-distal axis of the airway tree. The chapters on regulation of lung regeneration and repair discuss how regenerative cells interact with their niche microenvironment and how regulation of lung regeneration and repair in the steady state and following injury recapitulates ontogeny. And, lastly, the chapters on cellular therapies for lung disease and bioengineering the lung focus on promising emerging therapies and approaches in lung regenerative medicine. The scope of this volume of the Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine series focuses on exploring the topic of building and rebuilding the lung from a cellular rather than a molecular perspective. Thus, the section on cellular therapies does not include extensive coverage of each of the numerous lung diseases, including cancer, which could be amenable to stem cell-based therapies, although the final chapter does include some discussion on the future prospects and challenges. All of the contributors are working on the cutting edge of the lung stem cell field, making this book essential reading for those with an interest in the field of lung stem cell biology and the potential role of cellular therapies and tissue bioengineering approaches in lung regenerative medicine, including biomedical scientists, graduate students, post-graduate researchers and respiratory clinicians.

Contents:

Part 1. Fetal Lung Development.- The Regulation of Branching Morphogenesis in the Developing Lung.- Epithelial-Mesenchymal Crosstalk in Lung Development.- Lung Vasculogenesis and Angiogenesis.- Neural Regulation of Lung Development.- Fetal and Neonatal Origins of Lung Disease.- Part 2. Adult Lung Stem and Progenitor Cells.- Stem and Progenitor Cells of the Trachea and Proximal Airways.- Stem and Progenitor Cells of the Distal Bronchiolar Airways.- Regenerative Cells in the Ageing Lung.- Part 3. Regulation of Lung Regeneration and Repair.- Stromal Regulation of Lung Regeneration and Repair.- Immunomodulatory Regulation Of Lung Regeneration and Repair.- Extracellular Matrix Specification of Regenerative Cells in the Adult Lung.- Role of Mechanical Stress in Lung Repair and Regeneration.- Part 4. Cellular Therapies for Lung Disease.- Cellular Origins of Fibrotic Lung Diseases.- Mesenchymal Stromal Cell Based Therapies for Lung Disease.- Lung Vascular Regeneration and Repair.- Directed Differentiation of Human Pluripotent Stem Cells into Lung and Airway Epithelial Cells.- Part 5. Bioengineering the Lung.- Regenerating the Respiratory Tract.- Acellular Lung Scaffolds in Lung Bioengineering.- Part 6. Afterword.-Prospects and Challenges in Lung Regenerative Medicine.