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Abstract/Summary
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Horizon Europe is a major stakeholder in the immediate future of lung research. As such, we believe it is worthwhile drawing the attention of the European Respiratory Journal readership to the recent publication by Hynes et al. [1] on Advanced Non-animal Models in Biomedical Research: Respiratory Tract Diseases. This report from the European Commission's Joint Research Centre EU Reference Laboratory (EURL ECVAM), and its accompanying dataset [2], identifies well-established current and emerging in vitro, in silico and ex vivo non-animal models for respiratory disease modelling, and reinforces the concept of “reduce, refine, or replace” animals used for scientific purposes. The 3R approach is not only embraced by the European Commission, but also the respiratory research community, as evidenced by many European Respiratory Society publications as well as frequent ERS Congress sessions and research seminars on the topic.
The EURL ECVAM study, prepared with the partnership of external experts in the field, involved a systematic review of peer-reviewed scientific literature. Over 21 000 abstracts (11 636 non-cancer and 9421 cancer) were scanned for relevant non-animal models of respiratory disease culminating in a knowledge base containing detailed descriptions of 284 non-animal models currently or recently being used for respiratory disease research. Briefly, the review shows that while simple models are still prominent and have their uses, in the past 5 years research focus has been shifting towards increasingly sophisticated bioengineering approaches that recapitulate human lung development, anatomy and physiology in vitro. Such novel approaches hold promise as blueprints for modelling human-relevant diseases and can be used not only to elucidate mechanism of disease, but also to aid in the development of new therapies and responses thereto. The findings from the study are freely available to download from the EURL ECVAM Collection in the JRC Data Catalogue, together with a JRC Technical Report that describes the review methodology and presents the main findings [1, 2]. Ideally, this knowledge base will serve as a means to explore the strengths and limitations of both animal and non-animal models used in biomedical research; to stimulate healthy scientific debate; to challenge mindsets; and ultimately to pave the way for doing better science. Key conclusions of the work are summarised in table 1. Its overarching aim is to bridge methods and disciplines in order to improve biomedical science for the benefit of patients and society.
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