The present invention provides methods for enhancing or inducing airway epithelial repair and/or regeneration and/or for the normalization of airway epithelial remodeling, using local deposition of one or more pro-regenerative factors, preferably a peptide or protein from the trefoil family factor (TFF) family. The pro-regenerative factor is administered to a patient as a treatment of Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), chronic bronchitis, Cystic fibrosis, Asthma, Bronchiectasis, Panbronchiolitis, pneumonia, ventilator associated pneumonia (VAP), hospital acquired pneumonia (HAP), community acquired pneumonia (CAP), severe community acquired pneumonia (sCAP) and pneumocystis carinii or to patients suffering from lung damage reducing the function of the mucociliary transport system based on fully functioning cilia secondary to, e.g. inhalation of toxic fumes. The present invention also provide therapy and or prophylactic or preemptive, i.e. prophylaxis based on a predefined group of patients like intervention in smokers in order to enhance ongoing airway epithelial repair and/or regeneration of the airways cilia improving the mucociliary clearance. The pro-regenerative factor is administered intratracheal, intrabronchial, intraalveolar or broncioalveolar. Administration for example via inhalation of an aerosol or as a dry powder and/or administered as a bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) an effective amount of the agent.
