National Taiwan University (NTU) team has identified the SSEA-1+ pulmonary stem/progenitor cells (PSCs) and found that these cells can inhibit allergic airway inflammation, reduce airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) and lung damage. Bor-Luen Chiang, professor of Graduate Institute of Clinical Medicine at NTU, led the team to make another breakthrough in their research on allergic airway inflammation. Asthma is a heterogeneous inflammatory disorder that is characterized by chronic airway inflammation, AHR, and excessive airway mucous production. The intensity of the pulmonary recruitment of eosinophils is strongly correlated with the severity of AHR. Asthma in most patients could be only symptomatically controlled by the available medications. However, the patients with inadequately controlled asthma often have limited therapeutic options and remained at a high risk of serious morbidity and mortality. Chiang's team discovered that neonatal SSEA-1+ pulmonary cells are stem/progenitor cells capable of self-renewal and differentiating into pneumocytes and tracheal epithelial cells. They observed that neonatal SSEA-1+ PSCs could inhibit the cytokines thymic stromal lymphopoietin and eotaxin (TSLP) production by lung epithelial cells. After investigating this phenomenon, they adoptively transferred SSEA-1+ PSCs into asthmatic mice, and found that the cells suppressed eosinophil infiltration and airway inflammatory cytokines, which significantly reduced AHR, limiting inflammation and damage to the lungs. Chiang's research has shed the light on further understanding the role of PSCs in the pathogenesis of allergic asthma and explore the possible therapeutic management of allergic asthma in the future. Their research titled “Lung-derived SSEA-1+ stem/progenitor cells inhibit allergic airway inflammation in mice” has been published in the April issue of Allergy 2015 and selected as the cover story of the issue. Reference Chiu CJ, Ling TY & Chiang BL. Lung-derived SSEA-1(+) stem/progenitor cells inhibit allergic airway inflammation in mice. Allergy 4, 374 (2015). (Cover story of the issue) Reference Chiao-rong Chiu, Thai-Yen Ling & Bor-Luen Chiang. Lung-derived SSEA-1(+) stem/progenitor cells inhibit allergic airway inflammation in mice. Allergy 4, 374 (2015). (Cover story of the issue) DOI: 10.1111/ all.12567. Professor Bor-Luen Chiang Graduate Institute of Immunology gicmbor@ntu.edu.tw