The Role of Macrophages in Neonatal Lung Injury Induced By Hyperoxia: Effects of Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells

The effects of the inhaled exposure to high oxygen in preterm babies that require supplemental oxygen to survive was studied. Neonatal mice were exposed to high oxygen for the first week of life to promote an inflammatory response in the lung. Mice were administered human bone marrow stem cells into the airways, followed by assessment of infiltrating lung immune cells response and the severity of lung fibrosis. The use of these stem cells presents an effective treatment for hyperoxia-induced neonatal lung injury due to homing of the cells to the injured lung tissue and alteration of lung immune cells to ameliorate injury.