Alpha 1 Antitrypsin Treatment during Human Ex Vivo Lung Perfusion Improves Lung Function by Protecting Lung Endothelium

In this study we demonstrated that human A1AT was able to improve the quality of severly injuried human lungs, likely through endothelial cell protection. The encouraging results justify a clinical trial, in order to improve donor lung quality and clinical outcomes in lung transplantation. Our study also illustrates that testing selected drugs on injured human lungs on EVLP is a viable strategy prior to clinical application.