International collaboration leads to breakthroughs in COPD research

Seven years ago, Longfonds launched the BREATH project. Leading international researchers worked together toward one goal: repairing lungs affected by COPD. At the end of 2025, we took stock. What have we achieved over these seven years?

Unique in lung research: multidisciplinary collaboration

It is Longfonds’ great ambition: to find a solution for people with COPD. When BREATH was founded in 2016, research into restoring lung tissue was in its early stages. There was still a lack of knowledge about how the lungs function. To boost research in this area, we brought together international researchers from different disciplines. Stem cell researchers, pulmonologists, and pioneers in organ tissue repair started working together within the newly established BREATH consortium. BREATH stands for Building Respiratory Epithelium And Tissue for Health.

The BREATH researchers worked at institutes in the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands. Their joint research generated a great deal of new information about the characteristics of COPD and about how cells in the lung function. The researchers also worked on developing a lung organoid – the mini-lung – and explored the possibilities of transplanting a mini-lung.

Key results at a glance

Combining forces in COPD research has led to many important discoveries. BREATH has clarified why lungs affected by COPD can no longer repair themselves properly. The research has generated new ideas about which processes we may be able to influence to make recovery possible in the future.

At the end of December 2025, the BREATH researchers gathered in Utrecht for a symposium to share their knowledge with the Dutch lung research field. Among others, Prof. Dr. Hans Clevers and Prof. Dr. Carla Kim, consortium leaders of BREATH, talk about this in the video below:

Many new discoveries have been made. The main research results are listed below:

1. The mini-lung is complete. A mini-lung of the airways had already been developed, but creating a mini-lung of the alveoli proved to be complex. This is especially important because oxygen exchange takes place in the alveoli. With the mini-lung of the alveoli, all parts of the lung can now be studied quickly and safely in the laboratory. They are used to test medications.

2. The discovery of a new type of stem cell in the lung was major news in the scientific world in 2022. The so-called RASC (Respiratory Airway Secretory Cells) helps alveoli and small airways function. When the lung is damaged, this stem cell becomes impaired. This is an important discovery because this type of stem cell does not occur in mice, which are often used as models for humans in COPD research. Now that we know this stem cell exists, researchers can obtain a more realistic picture of how human lungs function and what happens in COPD.

3. There is extensive new knowledge about how lung cells repair themselves and communicate with each other. In COPD, communication between cells and molecules in the lungs is disrupted. This prevents lung tissue from repairing itself. Existing medicines or known signalling pathways may help reactivate stem cells. BREATH researchers have also shown that a specific protein called MC002 stimulates cell growth in mini-lungs. Research is now investigating whether this can be further developed into a medication for COPD.

4. The environment of a damaged lung is often unsuitable for cell repair. In COPD, the network of proteins that supports lung cells changes, making recovery more difficult. To increase the survival chances of cells introduced for transplantation, a gel has been developed that resembles healthy tissue. The gel supports the cells and improves the growth and survival of organoids. The development of this gel is therefore an important step towards stem cell (organoid) transplantation.

'An investment in the next generation of lung researchers'

In addition to extensive newly developed knowledge, the long-term collaboration between international organizations has also produced additional benefits. In the words of consortium leader Prof. Dr. Carla Kim: ‘We have funded the next generation of lung scientists.’ Both knowledge and staff have been exchanged between laboratories on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean.

Five new research laboratories have now been established by young researchers who were involved in BREATH. Their research builds on knowledge from this consortium and will generate even more research on this theme in the coming decades. BREATH has also resulted in at least 44 scientific publications. ‘Through this collaboration, you have the opportunity to connect to these individual research areas, each with our own unique research expertise. That way we become more effective as a team than you can ever be as an individual,’ said Prof. Dr. Reinoud Gosens, BREATH researcher at the University of Groningen.

 

A solution for people with COPD: how close are we?

BREATH and the studies that have followed have clearly brought us one step closer to potential treatments – exactly what we hoped for. Researchers can now start thinking about treatments that improve lung function in people with COPD. “We can now think about how we can help people not only feel better and prevent deterioration, but also truly help them breathe better,” says pulmonologist and BREATH researcher Dr. Maria Basil.

Meanwhile, attention for COPD within the international research community has grown. Longfonds continues to actively engage in discussions about the importance of lung tissue repair. Lung tissue repair is also an important topic within the international COPD i-Net network.

Two concrete studies on lung tissue repair currently supported by Longfonds are RecovAir and MimeCure. RecovAir focuses on developing a treatment in which a COPD medication remains deep inside the damaged lung for a longer period of time. This should help stimulate the lungs to repair themselves.

MimeCure is a groundbreaking study from Groningen into a medication for people with COPD. The protein MC002 appears to stimulate cell growth in so-called mini-lungs. Thanks to a large grant, this research by Prof. Dr. Reinoud Gosens and Dr. Luke van der Koog can now enter its next phase. This discovery may lead to the first medication that restores lung tissue in COPD.

Continuing to ask the right questions: the role of the patient advisory committee

Since the start of the BREATH consortium, the involvement of the patient advisory committee has been substantial. People with lung disease have spent seven years studying the research, attending meetings, and raising questions to keep researchers focused. This has ensured that the focus on finding a solution for people with COPD has been maintained. Their enormous dedication has made them valued partners of the researchers throughout this long process.