Understanding the mechanisms underlying the process of regeneration and repair of airway epithelial structures demands close\r\ncharacterization of the associated cellular and molecular events. The choice of an animal model system to study these processes\r\nand the role of lung stem cells is debatable since ideally the chosen animal model should offer a valid comparison with the human\r\nlung. Species differences may include the complex three-dimensional lung structures, cellular composition of the lung airway as\r\nwell as transcriptional control of the molecular events in response to airway epithelium regeneration, and repair following injury.\r\nIn this paper, we discuss issues related to the study of the lung repair and regeneration including the role of putative stem cells in\r\nsmall- and large-animal models. At the end of this paper, the author discuss the potential for using sheep as a model which can\r\nhelp bridge the gap between small-animal model systems and humans.
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