The HPS Network visited the Kotton Lab in Framingham, Mass in July to learn more about how the lab is using stem cells derived from the blood of people with HPS to find clues to treat the lung disease of HPS. The lab collected blood samples at the HPS Conference two years ago. The Kotton Lab is known the world over for their stem cell work on a variety of lung diseases. While there, the visitors from the HPS Network learned more about induced pluripotent stem cells, the process to coax them to develop into the desired cell type to be studied and how that process helps researchers understand the lung disease of HPS better. They also got to see some of these cells in the microscope!
The HPS team that was able to visit the lab included: Donna and Ashley Appell, Frankie Feliciano and Carmen Camacho.
Dr. Kotton explained that being able to grow new lungs from stem cells, or even repair damaged tissue, is still a long way away now. Still, the lab is learning much more about what may go wrong in the development of various lung cells in people with HPS. This may help researchers identify new therapeutic targets for future therapies.