Weldearegay Yenehiwot Berhanu, Brogaard Louise, Rautenschlein Silke, Meens Jochen, Valentin-Weigand Peter, Schaaf Désirée
Institute for Microbiology, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Foundation, Hannover, Germany.
Department of Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Section for Medical Biotechnology, Technical University of Denmark, Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark.
Front Cell Infect Microbiol. 2025 May 9;15:1565513. doi: 10.3389/fcimb.2025.1565513. eCollection 2025.
Respiratory infections of livestock represent a major health issue for the animals and cause high economic losses for the farmers. Still, little is known about the intricate interactions between host cells and the many different pathogens that cause respiratory diseases, leaving a substantial knowledge gap to be filled in order to develop effective therapies. Immortalized cell lines and two-dimensional cultures of primary respiratory epithelial cells do not reflect the complex architecture and functionality of the respiratory tract tissues. Thus, it is essential to develop and apply appropriate primary cell culture systems to study respiratory diseases. In human research, the use of complex cell culture systems, such as air-liquid interface (ALI) cultures, organoids and lung-on-chip, has proceeded significantly during the last years, whereas in veterinary research, these models are only rarely used. Nevertheless, there are several three-dimensional, primary cell culture systems available to study respiratory infections of livestock. Here, we give an overview on models that are currently used in this field: nasal mucosa explants, tracheal organ cultures, ALI cultures, and precision-cut lung slices. All these models align with the 3R principle, as they can replace animal experiments to some extent and the tissue material for these culture systems can be obtained from abattoirs or veterinary research facilities. We aim to encourage other researchers to use these versatile cell culture systems to drive investigations of respiratory tract infections of livestock forward. Finally, these models are not limited to infection research, but can also be applied in other research fields and can be transferred to other animal species than livestock.
家畜呼吸道感染对动物来说是一个重大的健康问题，给养殖户造成了巨大的经济损失。然而，对于宿主细胞与导致呼吸道疾病的多种不同病原体之间复杂的相互作用，我们知之甚少，这留下了很大的知识空白，有待填补，以便开发有效的治疗方法。永生化细胞系和原代呼吸道上皮细胞的二维培养不能反映呼吸道组织的复杂结构和功能。因此，开发和应用合适的原代细胞培养系统来研究呼吸道疾病至关重要。在人类研究中，诸如气液界面（ALI）培养、类器官和芯片肺等复杂细胞培养系统在过去几年中有了显著进展，而在兽医研究中，这些模型很少被使用。尽管如此，仍有几种三维原代细胞培养系统可用于研究家畜的呼吸道感染。在此，我们概述了该领域目前使用的模型：鼻黏膜外植体、气管器官培养、ALI培养和精密切割肺切片。所有这些模型都符合3R原则，因为它们在一定程度上可以替代动物实验，并且这些培养系统的组织材料可以从屠宰场或兽医研究设施获得。我们旨在鼓励其他研究人员使用这些多功能细胞培养系统，推动家畜呼吸道感染研究的进展。最后，这些模型不仅限于感染研究，还可应用于其他研究领域，并且可以推广到除家畜以外的其他动物物种。
