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World J Stem Cells. Aug 26, 2026; 18(8): 121124
Published online Aug 26, 2026. doi: 10.4252/wjsc.121124
Published online Aug 26, 2026. doi: 10.4252/wjsc.121124
Stem/progenitor cell-driven immune microenvironment remodeling in sepsis-associated acute respiratory distress syndrome
Wen-Xing Li, Department of Anesthesiology, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, National Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Tianjin 300060, China
Wen-Xing Li, Department of Anesthesiology, Key Laboratory of Cancer Prevention and Therapy, Tianjin 300060, China
Wen-Xing Li, Department of Anesthesiology, Tianjin’s Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Tianjin 300060, China
Si-Cong Jiang, Division of Thoracic and Endocrine Surgery, University Hospitals and University of Geneva, Geneva 1211, Switzerland
Sheng-Li Fan, Department of Pharmacy, Shanxi Pharmaceutical Vocational College, Taiyuan 030602, Shanxi Province, China
Yu-Xuan Xing, Department of Thoracic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou 215006, Jiangsu Province, China
Lei Gong, Department of Esophageal Cancer, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, Tianjin 300060, China
Lei Gong, Department of Esophageal Cancer, Key Laboratory of Cancer Prevention and Therapy, Tianjin 300060, China
Lei Gong, Department of Esophageal Cancer, Tianjin’s Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Tianjin 300060, China
Author contributions: Li WX and Jiang SC contributed equally to this study and are co-first authors. Li WX and Jiang SC contributed to conceptualization, investigation, and data curation; Jiang SC, Fan SL, Xing YX, and Gong L contributed to writing, review, and editing; Li WX contributed to methodology and writing of the original draft; Fan SL contributed to formal analysis and visualization; Xing YX contributed to data collection and literature search; Gong L contributed to supervision, project administration, and funding acquisition; and all authors have read and approved the final version of the manuscript.
AI contribution statement: We did not use AI tools to participate in the generation of research data, interpretation of results, or formulation of conclusions. The author rigorously reviewed and revised all outputs generated by AI.
Institutional review board statement: This study was approved by the Medical Ethics Committee of Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, No. 2026-01-33.
Informed consent statement: Owing to the retrospective nature of the study and the use of anonymized data, the requirement for informed consent was waived by the ethics committee.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Data sharing statement: No additional data are available.
Corresponding author: Lei Gong, PhD, Associate Chief Physician, Department of Esophageal Cancer, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, Huanhu West Road, Hexi District, Tianjin 300060, China. pear0721@163.com
Received: April 10, 2026
Revised: May 12, 2026
Accepted: June 22, 2026
Published online: August 26, 2026
Processing time: 131 Days and 22.2 Hours
Revised: May 12, 2026
Accepted: June 22, 2026
Published online: August 26, 2026
Processing time: 131 Days and 22.2 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: In sepsis-acute respiratory distress syndrome, the downregulation of alveolar epithelial type II cells progenitor markers (surfactant protein C, epithelial cell adhesion molecule) is accompanied by T-cell subset imbalance and elevated proinflammatory cytokines, which are closely associated with disease severity, oxygenation impairment and increased lactate; surfactant protein C and sequential organ failure assessment score are independent predictors of 28-day mortality, suggesting that stem/progenitor cell-mediated immune microenvironment remodeling may serve as a promising prognostic indicator and therapeutic target for sepsis-acute respiratory distress syndrome.