Stem Cell Therapy Effect on the Inflammatory Response in a Porcine Model of Acute Lung Injury

BackgroundUse of mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) in tissue healing has gained considerable interest, especially in complex tissue injuries such as acute lung injury (ALI). The utility of MSCs is currently being evaluated in clinical trials for different diseases, but the mechanism by which treatment may affect pulmonary function in ALI is unclear. ObjectiveWe tested the hypothesis that in severe traumatic lung injury resulting in pulmonary hemorrhage and endothelial damage, the inflammatory response at the cellular level may be acutely improved with MSC treatment compared to standard clinical management with ventilator adjustments alone. Design/MethodsPerinatal swine (8.5 ± 0.2 kg body weight, n=11) were anesthetized, mechanically ventilated, and catheterized with a pulmonary artery catheter. After obtaining baseline hemodynamic measurements and blood gases to assess pulmonary function and bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) specimens to examine indices of pulmonary inflammation, oleic acid (0.1 ml/kg) was injected...