Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease presents with two different phenotypes: chronic bronchitis\nand emphysema with parenchymal destruction. Decreased expression of vascular endothelial growth factor and\nincreased endothelial cell apoptosis are considered major factors for emphysema. Stem cells have the ability of\nvascular regeneration and function as a repair mechanism for the damaged endothelial cells. Currently, minimally\ninvasive interventional procedures such as placement of valves, bio-foam or coils are performed in order to improve\nthe disturbed mechanical function in emphysema patients. However, these procedures cannot restore functional\nlung tissue. Additionally stem cell instillation into the parenchyma has been used in clinical studies aiming to\nimprove overall respiratory function and quality of life.\nMethods: In our current experiment we induced emphysema with a DDMC non-viral vector in BALBC mice and\nsimultaneously instilled stem cells testing the hyposthesis that they might have a protective role against the\ndevelopment of emphysema. The mice were divided into four groups: a) control, b) 50.000 cells, c) 75.000 and\nd) 100.000 cells.\nResults: Lung pathological findings revealed that all treatment groups had less damage compared to the control\ngroup. Additionally, we observed that emphysema lesions were less around vessels in an area of 10 ?m.\nConclusions: Our findings indicate that stem cell instillation can have a regenerative role if applied upon a tissue\nscaffold with vessel around.\nVirtual Slides: The virtual slide(s) for this article can be found here: http://www.diagnosticpathology.diagnomx.eu/\nvs/13000_2014_195
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