Division of Experimental Feto-Maternal Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Fetal Medicine, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
J Reprod Immunol. 2019 Apr;132:54-59. doi: 10.1016/j.jri.2019.03.004. Epub 2019 Mar 25.
Research endeavors aiming to understand the maternal immune adaptation to pregnancy significantly rely on the use of animal models, such as mice and rats. These models have provided important insights into the pathophysiology of a number of pregnancy disorders in humans. However, the use of animal models in scientific research is a vividly debated and emotive topic. The 3R principles - replacement, reduction and refinement of research animals - have been propagated a few decades ago. The present review advocates a forward-thinking consciousness to address the 3R principles in research projects in the field of reproductive biology and immunology. Specific measures and alternative methods are being proposed to replace research animals by using e.g. tissue engineering approaches, biobank-derived tissue, 'placenta-on-a-chip' devices or in silico methods. The latter may involve data queries from repositories now available to provide single cell sequencing information on reproductive tissues. Reduction of research animals by gestational imaging and a wealth of suggestions for refinement are proposed. Taken together, the measures and guidelines introduced in this review are expected to spark a reconsideration of experimental designs in the area of reproductive biology and immunology in order to implement 3R principle where applicable.
研究旨在理解母体免疫适应妊娠的努力主要依赖于动物模型，如小鼠和大鼠。这些模型为理解人类许多妊娠疾病的病理生理学提供了重要的见解。然而，动物模型在科学研究中的应用是一个备受争议和情绪化的话题。几十年来，人们一直在宣传 3R 原则，即替代、减少和优化研究动物。本综述提倡前瞻性思维，以解决生殖生物学和免疫学领域研究项目中的 3R 原则。正在提出具体措施和替代方法，例如使用组织工程方法、生物库衍生组织、“芯片上的胎盘”设备或计算方法来替代研究动物。后者可能涉及从现在可用的存储库中查询数据，以提供生殖组织的单细胞测序信息。通过妊娠成像减少研究动物数量，并提出了大量的优化建议。总之，本综述中介绍的措施和指南有望重新考虑生殖生物学和免疫学领域的实验设计，以便在适用的情况下实施 3R 原则。
