A research team from the Francis Crick Institute, in collaboration with the Swiss company AlveoliX, has developed a miniature human lung model that allows for the study of respiratory diseases with a level of detail previously difficult to achieve. The study, published in the journal Science Advances, does not involve creating a complete lung for transplantation, but rather something different and highly significant: an experimental system that mimics how human lung tissue functions under real-world conditions.

The model is based on a “lung-on-a-chip,” a small device that reproduces the alveoli, the structures where oxygen exchange occurs in our lungs. To build it, the research team used induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) obtained from a single donor. From these, they generated different types of lung and immune system cells, all with the same genetic information. This is crucial because it avoids the variations that occur when cells from different people are mixed and allows for the study of more precise responses to infections or treatments.

The device not only replicates the structure of the lung, but also its movement: the cells stretch and relax rhythmically, simulating breathing. Thanks to this, the tissue behaves very similarly to a real lung. To test its usefulness, the team used it to study a tuberculosis infection, observing how bacteria interact with lung cells and how the immune system responds in the early stages of the disease.

This is a significant advance because it allows researchers to investigate human respiratory diseases without relying so heavily on animal models and with greater fidelity to what happens in the body. Furthermore, it opens the door to studying how individual genetic factors influence the disease and to testing treatments more safely and in a more personalized way. In a context where lung diseases remain a global problem, having more precise tools to understand them is a significant step forward.