New lung blood-vessel stem cells that help repair lungs after ARDS
Official title: Novel intrinsic endothelial stem cells responsible for lung endothelial regeneration and vascular repair in ARDS
Funded at Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago · NIH-11251790 · Data updated 2026-11-12
The project focuses on a rare lung blood-vessel cell that helps rebuild the lung lining after severe infection-related breathing failure in adults.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Chicago, United States) |
| Project start | December 22, 2023 |
| Project end | November 30, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $743,949 |
| NIH project number | 5R01HL172447-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11251790 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal participants would be adults with sepsis-related ARDS or adults able to donate lung tissue or blood samples for research.
✕Less likely to help
Children and people without sepsis-related ARDS are unlikely to directly benefit from this specific research.
What this research studies
If you've had ARDS, researchers are studying a rare lung blood-vessel cell called UC+ endothelial stem cells that may rebuild damaged lung vessels after sepsis. They will examine these cells' genes and growth behavior using lab models and samples from patients and animals, and will remove them in animals to see how healing changes. The team will compare these cells to other known vascular progenitors to confirm they are unique. The goal is to learn whether protecting or boosting these cells could help lungs recover after severe injury.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could point to ways to restore damaged lung blood vessels and improve recovery and survival after ARDS.
How similar studies have gone: Prior animal and patient studies show endothelial cells can aid lung repair, but identification of this specific UC+ stem cell population is novel and not yet tested in treatments.
Where this research is happening
-
Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago
Chicago, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Zhao, You-Yang — Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago
- Study coordinator: Zhao, You-Yang
Related research
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.