A microfluidic device is contemplated comprising an open-top cavity with structural anchors on the vertical wall surfaces that serve to prevent gel shrinkage-induced delamination, a porous membrane (optionally stretchable) positioned in the middle over a microfluidic channel(s). The device is particularly suited to the growth of cells mimicking dermal layers.

Provided is a method of treating idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) using an agent that reduces or eliminates the kinase activity of checkpoint kinase 1 (Chk1).

A method for culturing primary cells from solid tumor tissues of lung cancer and primary tumor cells from pleural effusion of lung cancer, and the auxiliary reagents. A method for culturing primary cells from solid tumor tissues of lung cancer and primary tumor cells from pleural effusion of lung cancer and the auxiliary reagents. The core of the technology is as follows: (1) solid tumor of lung cancer are treated by using a mild cell dissociating reagent, and lung cancer cells in pleural effusion are dissociated by a mild method, ensuring the vitality of cancer cells to the greatest extent; (2) a special serum-free medium is prepared, and tumor cells derived from solid tumor tissues of lung cancer are cultured in vitro by using a suspension culture system, ensuring the normal amplification of the cancer cells while eliminating the interference of normal cells to the greatest extent.

The invention is directed to in vitro methods of inducing differentiation of anterior foregut endoderm and the enriched populations of anterior foregut endoderm produced by such methods. Such enriched populations are useful for studies of the molecular events that occur during differentiation and for generating cells for cell replacement therapy.

Methods of using human airway stem cells in lung epithelial engineering, optionally wherein the cells are contacted with a gamma secretase inhibitor, bioartificial airway organs produced thereby, and the use thereof, e.g., for transplantation. Also methods of treating a bio-artificial matrix with Tenascin-C and/or fibrillin 2.

The present invention relates to a method for the production of differentiated respiratory epithelial cells comprising: (a) providing a cell population comprising or consisting of precursor cells of respiratory epithelial cells; (b) culturing the cell population of (a) in culture medium to which keratinocyte growth factor has been added; wherein the cultured cell population is supplemented with a glucocorticoid, a cAMP analog and a cAMP elevating agent and wherein said supplementation is either simultaneously with the addition of keratinocyte growth factor in step (b) or prior or subsequently to the addition of keratinocyte growth factor in step (b), thereby differentiating said precursor cells into respiratory epithelial cells. The present invention further relates to the cell(s) obtained by the method of the invention for use in treating or preventing a respiratory disease and to a method for identifying a compound having an pharmacological, cytotoxic, proliferative, transforming or differentiating effect on the differentiated respiratory epithelial cells obtained by the method of the invention.

Described herein are highly efficient gene-editing systems comprising a nuclease, a guide RNA, and/or a donor template and uses thereof for editing a cystic fibrosis transmembrane regulator (CFTR) gene either in vitro or in vivo.

Provided are a clinical-grade autologous bronchial basal cell, a deliverable formulation thereof, and a preparation process. The preparation process comprises the following steps: acquiring and digesting an in vitro active bronchoscopic brushed-off biopsy tissue, and collecting cells after digestion is terminated; plating the digested cells on a culture plate pre-coated with feeder layer cells, collecting the cultured cells to perform amplification culture on a culture plate pre-coated with feeder layer cells, and when the cells grow to cover 50%-90% of the surface area of the culture plate, performing cell passage operation; and when passaged culture cells grow to cover 85%-95% of the surface area of a culture dish, digesting and collecting adhered cells, and washing. The clinical-grade bronchial basal cell prepared by this method can differentiate stably after the cells reach the lesion and significantly achieve the damaged lung tissue regeneration.

The present disclosure addresses inflammatory lung diseases, such as COPD, and fibrotic lung diseases such as idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, from the standpoint of inhibiting or ablating pathogenic epithelial stem cells found in the pulmonary tract.

The present invention relates to a method for fabrication of a three-dimensional lung organoid comprising human stem cell-derived alveolar macrophages. Specifically, a lung organoid is fabricated by co-culturing cells not expressing the definitive endoderm marker CRCX4 according to a fabrication method of the present disclosure. The lung organoid comprises type 1 and type 2 alveolar epithelial cells as well as alveolar macrophages and realizes infectious or inflammatory responses unlike conventional lung organoids that contain no immune cells and as such, can be advantageously used in studying mechanisms of related lung diseases, excavating biomarkers, developing therapeutic agents, and so on.