A research team from Tongji University in China have made a breakthrough in human lung regeneration technology. For the first time, researchers have regenerated patients' damaged lungs using autologous lung stem cell transplantation in a pilot clinical trial.

Already in 2015, Professor Zuo and his colleagues identified p63+/Krt5+ adult stem cells in a mouse lung, which had potential to regenerate pulmonary structures including bronchioles and alveoli. Now Professor Zuo's lab in Tongji University and Kiangnan Stem Cell Institute is focusing on lung stem cells in humans rather than mice.