New cell culture models to replace animal experiments

Scientists from the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) and its branch facility, the Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS), have now designed new cell culture models that may be able to replace some animal experiments in the future. Working with Saarland University, the Drug Delivery Department of HIPS, directed by Professor Claus-Michael Lehr, has developed a cell culture model that can be used to simulate chronic enteritis. The special feature of this model is that it combines mucosal cells, which simulate a healthy colon, with immune cells and various inflammatory substances. The inflammation replicated in this way will help researchers to better understand the processes underlying intestinal disorders such as Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. “This is especially important for testing the absorption of drugs and delivery systems in a diseased intestine,” says Lehr. In Lehr’s department, researchers led by Dr. Nicole Daum are working on advanced models of the lung. Together with colleagues from the HZI, they aim to immortalize human and murine lung cells in order to investigate the entry of pathogens into the body and to test new drugs. In the past, immortalising lung cells has always led to the loss of typical cell properties, making studies on living animals inevitable. Now a working group under Dr. Dagmar Wirth at the HZI has developed a technique for preserving cell properties. “We only prompt the cell to divide as required,” explains Wirth. “This has allowed us, for example, to preserve the properties of endothelial cells. We now plan to transfer the procedure to epithelial lung cells.”

Andreas Fischer