In the news
11 Mar 2010
19 June 2009
Artificial microlungs on a chip
Artificial lab-grown “Microlungs” grown using human lung tissue could replace animal testing for lung toxicity for pharmaceuticals, chemicals and cosmetics. The human lung cells grown on a plastic scaffold can mimic functioning lungs and are already being trialed by drug companies.
This amazing innovation has been pioneered by Cardiff University cell biologist Dr Kelly BéruBé. Her work involved getting the human cells, which resemble the inner lining of lungs, to grow and differentiate onto a plastic scaffold and then to grow around tiny spheres embedded into a chip that creates artificial 3-dimensional lung alveoli. These alveoli can then be used to show how cells react to a variety of stimuli or chemicals.
The Microlung has the potential to save many thousands of animals, mainly rodents, from harmful and distressing lung toxicity tests in which anything from 200 – 3,000 animals are used per test chemical. As well as saving countless animal lives, it could also streamline and improve drug development by by-passing potentially misleading animal tests and proceeding directly to tests on human tissue.
Developments like the Microlung could make a dramatic difference to the animal welfare impact of the European Union’s REACH regulations1. This requires that around 30,000 chemicals be toxicity tested, including lung inhalation studies on rodents.
Reported in New Scientist2 from Dr BéruBé’s presentation at the recent Cheltenham Festival of Science, the ultimate goal is to develop a chip on which thousands of microlungs can be grown and used simultaneously. A big challenge ahead will be achieving acceptance of the Microlung by regulatory authorities and academia. However Dr BéruBé pointed out that rat models of lung toxicity are less relevant to humans than most people realise. Chocolate, for example, is lethal to rats and their anatomy is such that they can only breathe through their noses.
Notes
1 REACH is a European Community Regulation on chemicals and their safe use (EC 1907/2006). It deals with the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemical substances. The new law entered into force on 1 June 2007. http://ec.europa.eu/environment/chemicals/reach/reach_intro.htm
2 Original material from New Scientist.
