ERS International Congress 2022: highlights from the Basic and Translational Science Assembly.

In this review, the Basic and Translational Science Assembly of the European Respiratory Society provides an overview of the 2022 International Congress highlights. We discuss the consequences of respiratory events from birth until old age regarding climate change related alterations in air quality due to pollution caused by increased ozone, pollen, wildfires and fuel combustion as well as the increasing presence of microplastic and microfibres. Early life events such as the effect of hyperoxia in the context of bronchopulmonary dysplasia and crucial effects of the intrauterine environment in the context of pre-eclampsia were discussed. The Human Lung Cell Atlas (HLCA) was put forward as a new point of reference for healthy human lungs. The combination of single-cell RNA sequencing and spatial data in the HLCA has enabled the discovery of new cell types/states and niches, and served as a platform that facilitates further investigation of mechanistic perturbations. The role of cell death modalities in regulating the onset and progression of chronic lung diseases and its potential as a therapeutic target was also discussed. Translational studies identified novel therapeutic targets and immunoregulatory mechanisms in asthma. Lastly, it was highlighted that the choice of regenerative therapy depends on disease severity, ranging from transplantation to cell therapies and regenerative pharmacology.
Competing Interests: Conflict of interest: S. Cuevas Ocaña was supported by an Action for Pulmonary Fibrosis award to support attendance at the European Respiratory Society International Congress 2022. S. Rolandsson Enes declares personal consulting fees from Swedish StromaBio AB outside the submitted work. C. Voss declares research funding and salary from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement number 953183 (HARMLESS) and number 686098 (SmartNanoTox); and nonfinancial interests in spin-off company Infinite from H2020 SmartNanoTox. L.S.N. Dean reports being a postdoctoral research associate on a Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) David Phillips Fellowship (BB/V004573/1) and an NIHR Southampton Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) Senior Research Fellowship, and that they received a British Association for Lung Research Travel Award to the European Respiratory Society International Congress 2022. M. Loxham reports a BBSRC David Phillips Fellowship (BB/V004573/1) and an NIHR Southampton BRC Senior Research Fellowship to fund research and salary for a fellow; as well as research and equipment grants (total ∼GBP 13 000) from Asthma, Allergy, and Inflammation Research Charity (UK), in the 36 months prior to manuscript submission. C.M. Greene declares research funding paid to their institution by the National Institutes of Health, Vertex and the Alpha-1 Foundation; and an honorarium from Insmed, all in the 36 months prior to manuscript submission; as well as support for travel and accommodation at the European Respiratory Society International Congress 2022. I.H. Heijink declares research funding from Boehringer Ingelheim and Roche, outside the submitted work. A. Joannes declares research funding to their institution, and support for attending meetings and/or travel from AIR de Bretagne, in the 36 months prior to manuscript submission. A.M. van der Does declares an unpaid role as Secretary of European Respiratory Society Group 03.02 (Airway cell biology and immunopathology). D.E. Wagner declares research grants from the Swedish Research Council, the European Research Council, Vinnova, the Alternatives Research and Development Foundation and the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation; and support from AstraZeneca for attendance at the company's Science Day 2022 in Gothenburg; and receipt of electrospun membranes to their lab from Cellevate AB, all in the 36 months prior to manuscript submission; as well as patents relating to “De- and recellularization of whole organs” and “Microwave processing for calcium phosphate nanowhiskers”; personal stock investments in Merck, Pfizer, Thermofisher and Viatris; and an unpaid role as Secretary of European Respiratory Society Group 03.03 (Mechanisms of lung injury and repair). All other authors declare no competing interests.
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