Vall d’Hebron Institute of Research (VHIR) and the "http://www.idibell.cat/modul/news/en/537/idibell-licenses-histocell-a-patent-for-acute-respiratory-diseases-with-stem-cells" Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL) have signed a licensing agreement with the Spanish biotech company "http://www.histocell.com/en/index.asp" Histocell to make use of a patent for the treatment of acute pulmonary diseases with mesenchymal stem cells. These cells, administered intravenously, have the ability to go directly to the damaged lungs, acting as a "smart drug".The novelty patented has been the insertion of improvements through genetic engineering that can significantly enhance the anti-inflammatory and regenerative power of the mesenchymal cells. The cells are extracted from adipose tissue obtained from liposuction and are capable of enhancing the regeneration of the damaged lung tissue and secrete inflammatory proteins therein when injected into the blood. Specifically, researchers have modified the antagonist to secrete interleukin 33, a regulatory protein (cytokine) that has a fundamental role in the inflammatory process.The treatment has proven to be very effective given intravenously and has been successful in experiments on animals with acute respiratory distress, a very severe respiratory failure without effective treatment. It has also been proven effective in animal models with allergic asthma to persulfate salts, a condition equivalent to a professional disease detected among professional hairdressers.The study has been developed by a team led by Dr. Josep Maria Aran, researcher at the Human Molecular Genetics group of IDIBELL, together with doctors María Jesús Cruz and Francisco Javier Muñoz from the Pneumology research group at VHIR, and doctors Oriol Roca and Joan Ramon Masclans, from the Clinical Research/Innovation in Pneumonia and Sepsis (CRIPS) at VHIR. Finally, the Biomedical Research Network Centre for Respiratory Diseases (CIBERES) have also participated in this study.