Smoking is a chronic disease caused by dependence on nicotine in tobacco products. Excessive use of this product can cause serious and irreversible problems in the body, especially in the lungs. However, recent studies have discovered a new type of cell hidden among the branches of human lungs that may help reverse the effects of this disease on the lung. Check out more about it!
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Learn about the newly discovered cell that helps reverse the effects of smoking
According to a recent study, the newly discovered cells, which are hidden among the branches of the human lungs, play a key role in maintain the proper functioning of the respiratory system and may be useful in studies of new treatments to reverse the effects of certain diseases associated with smoking.
These cells, also known as respiratory airway secretory cells (RAS), are found in small passages branches of the lungs, the bronchioles, dotted with alveoli, small air sacs that exchange oxygen and carbon dioxide with the blood flow.
According to research data, RAS cells are similar to stem cells, and this is one of the main reasons why they are able to repair some damaged alveolar cells.
What was the discovery process like?
RAS cells were discovered after a period of frustration in studies with mouse lungs used as models for the human respiratory system. Due to some differences between the two, scientists have been slow to fill in some gaps in their knowledge about human lungs.
So, to better understand these differences at the cellular level, the researchers collected lung tissue samples from healthy humans and analyzed the genes within individual cells, which revealed RAS cells previously unknown.
This process, therefore, took longer, since, although it has been known for some time that the airways of the human lung differ from those of mice, emerging technologies have only recently allowed us to show and identify different types of cells.