On Jul. 2, 2025, researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) announced they have successfully grown miniature lungs from stem cells — complete with their own functioning blood vessel networks.

The groundbreaking work, detailed in Cell, marks the first time scientists have created lung organoids with integrated vascular systems that closely mirror how lungs develop in the human body. The advance opens the door to potentially growing other vascularized organ models, including intestines and colons, providing unprecedented tools for studying diseases, testing drugs and developing personalized treatments. 

The research team, which includes experts from Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, has already put the advanced organoid model to work, using it to uncover new insights into a rare and deadly congenital lung disorder that affects newborns.

The team put the improved mini-lung models to immediate use, studying a congenital lung disorder called alveolar capillary dysplasia with misalignment of pulmonary veins, or ACDMPV. This devastating condition — characterized by severe respiratory issues — is caused by mutations in the FOXF1 gene and has no cure.

Previous attempts to study this disease have failed because the faulty gene primarily affects blood vessels and support cells, components that are missing from conventional organoid models.

Using the new method, scientists were able to take stem cells from patients with FOXF1 mutations and grow vascularized lung organoids that recreated both the primary blood vessel defects and the secondary lung tissue abnormalities that result. 

Even with built-in blood vessels, these lungorganoids currently resemble fetal-stage human lungs. To make these mini-lungs more useful for medical research, the team is planning to introduce mechanical stretching and air exposure — mimicking the physical forces of breathing — to create the architecture found in more mature human lungs. The team is also aiming to scale up production to generate large batches of these advanced organoids for drug development and testing.