An Immuno-Lung Organoid Model Provides Insight on Immune Response in Lungs During SARS-CoV-2 Infection

Study in a Sentence: Using human lung organoids and patient samples, scientists found that during SARS-CoV-2 infection, lung immune cells halt cell growth and drive tissue damage.

Healthy for Humans: Understanding how SARS-CoV-2 impacts the lungs—the virus’s main site of infection—is critical for advancing prevention and care. This research uncovered changes in lung cells that move us closer to targeted COVID-19 treatments.

Redefining Research: Human lungs encounter many airborne pathogens, but their complex structure and diverse cell types make them challenging to study. Using a human-derived “Immuno-Lung” model alongside patient samples, researchers investigated COVID-19 across multiple lung cell types in the presence of immune cells—overcoming species-specific limitations of animal experimentation.