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Newswise ANN ARBOR, Mich. Scientists have coaxed stem cells to grow the first three-dimensional mini lungs.

Previous research has focused on deriving lung tissue from flat cell systems or growing cells onto scaffolds made from donated organs. In a study published in the online journal eLife the multi-institution team defined the system for generating the self-organizing human lung organoids, 3D structures that mimic the structure and complexity of human lungs.

These mini lungs can mimic the responses of real tissues and will be a good model to study how organs form, change with disease, and how they might respond to new drugs, says senior study author Jason R. Spence, Ph.D., assistant professor of internal medicine and cell and developmental biology at the University of Michigan Medical School.

The scientists succeeded in growing structures resembling both the large airways known as bronchi and small lung sacs called alveoli.

Since the mini lung structures were developed in a dish, they lack several components of the human lung, including blood vessels, which are a critical component of gas exchange during breathing.

Still, the organoids may serve as a discovery tool for researchers as they churn basic science ideas into clinical innovations. A practical solution lies in using the 3-D structures as a next step from, or complement to, animal research.

Cell behavior has traditionally been studied in the lab in 2-D situations where cells are grown in thin layers on cell-culture dishes. But most cells in the body exist in a three-dimensional environment as part of complex tissues and organs.

Researchers have been attempting to re-create these environments in the lab, successfully generating organoids that serve as models of the stomach, brain, liver and human intestine.

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Scientists Coax Stem Cells to Form 3D Mini Lungs