A new hope for pulmonary hypoplasia: amniotic fluid stem cell extracellular vesicles?

Ishara Atukorala; Lisa Hui

doi:10.20517/evcna.2025.25

A new hope for pulmonary hypoplasia: amniotic fluid stem cell extracellular vesicles?

Extracell Vesicles Circ Nucl Acids. 2025 Jul 10;6(3):350-354. doi: 10.20517/evcna.2025.25. eCollection 2025.

Authors

Ishara Atukorala^{1

2

3}, Lisa Hui^{1

2

3

4}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Obstetrics, Gynaecology and Newborn Health, Melbourne Medical School, The University of Melbourne, Heidelberg 3084, Australia.
² Mercy Perinatal, Mercy Hospital for Women, Heidelberg 3084, Australia.
³ Northern Health, Epping 3076, Australia.
⁴ Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Parkville 3052, Australia.

Abstract

In a recent study, Antounians and colleagues (2024) investigated the potential of amniotic fluid stem cell-derived extracellular vesicles (AFSC-EVs) as a therapeutic intervention for pulmonary hypoplasia resulting from congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH). They demonstrated the pronounced inflammatory signature of the fetal hypoplastic lungs, marked by heightened macrophage density in a CDH rat model. Intra-amniotic AFSC-EV administration mitigated the inflammatory process and enhanced fetal lung development by promoting branching morphogenesis and epithelial maturation. These findings add to a growing body of preclinical and clinical evidence supporting the therapeutic potential of AFSC-EVs for inflammation-driven pathologies.

Keywords: Extracellular vesicles; amniotic fluid stem cells; inflammation; pulmonary hypoplasia.