This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: 28/3/603    most recent 09031936.06.00004206v1 Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Permissions Request Permissions Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Web of Science (6) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Ressmeyer, A. R. Articles by Martin, C. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Ressmeyer, A. R. Articles by Martin, C.

Characterisation of guinea pig precision-cut lung slices: comparison with human tissues

¹ Research Center Borstel, Borstel, and, ³ Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, RWTH Aachen, Aachen, Germany. ² Unit for Experimental Asthma and Allergy Research, Division of Physiology, National Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.

CORRESPONDENCE: C. Martin, Division Pulmonary Pharmacology, Research Center Borstel, Leibniz Center for Medicine and Biosciences, Parkallee 22, D-23845 Borstel, Germany. Fax: 49 4537188778. E-mail: cmartin{at}fz-borstel.de

Keywords: Airway smooth muscle, eicosanoids, live dead staining, lung explants, ovalbumin, 2-photon microscopy

Received: January 12, 2006
Accepted May 22, 2006

Precision-cut lung slices (PCLS) allow comparison of the airway responses of different species under identical experimental conditions. The aim of this study was to establish and characterise PCLS from guinea pigs (GPs) and to compare them with human PCLS.

GP PCLS were prepared according to previously published procedures with the exception that the agarose solution and the initial incubation medium contained isoproterenol to avoid post mortem airway contraction.

The median effective concentrations (EC₅₀, expressed as nM) for agonist-induced bronchoconstriction in GP and human PCLS, respectively, were: leukotriene D₄ (1.8, 5.0); thromboxane (16, 1.3); serotonin (69, unresponsive); histamine (217, 2,170); and methacholine (231, 234). Allergen-induced bronchoconstriction of passively sensitised PCLS was attenuated by histamine or thromboxane-prostanoid receptor antagonists and was almost completely prevented by their combination with leukotriene receptor antagonists. Airways pre-contracted with methacholine were relaxed by the ß-agonist salbutamol or the phosphodiesterase inhibitor 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine. Simultaneous studies of airways and vessels are possible with, for example, EC₅₀ values for endothelin-1 of 37 nM (pulmonary arteries), 10 nM (pulmonary veins) and 9.6 nM (airway).

When compared with previous findings in rat and mouse, these data show that guinea pig lungs are a more appropriate model for human airway pharmacology than lungs from rats or mice.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				C. Dassow, L. Wiechert, C. Martin, S. Schumann, G. Muller-Newen, O. Pack, J. Guttmann, W. A. Wall, and S. Uhlig Biaxial distension of precision-cut lung slices J Appl Physiol, March 1, 2010; 108(3): 713 - 721. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				Y. Bai and M. J. Sanderson The contribution of Ca2+ signaling and Ca2+ sensitivity to the regulation of airway smooth muscle contraction is different in rats and mice Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol, June 1, 2009; 296(6): L947 - L958. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				X. Tang and K. T. Chong Histopathology and growth kinetics of influenza viruses (H1N1 and H3N2) in the upper and lower airways of guinea pigs J. Gen. Virol., February 1, 2009; 90(2): 386 - 391. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. Henjakovic, C. Martin, H. G. Hoymann, K. Sewald, A. R. Ressmeyer, C. Dassow, G. Pohlmann, N. Krug, S. Uhlig, and A. Braun Ex Vivo Lung Function Measurements in Precision-Cut Lung Slices (PCLS) from Chemical Allergen-Sensitized Mice Represent a Suitable Alternative to In Vivo Studies Toxicol. Sci., December 1, 2008; 106(2): 444 - 453. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. Uhlig and E. Gulbins Sphingolipids in the Lungs Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med., December 1, 2008; 178(11): 1100 - 1114. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				H. Meurs, R. Gosens, and J. Zaagsma Airway hyperresponsiveness in asthma: lessons from in vitro model systems and animal models Eur. Respir. J., August 1, 2008; 32(2): 487 - 502. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. L. Wright and A. Churg Short-term exposure to cigarette smoke induces endothelial dysfunction in small intrapulmonary arteries: analysis using guinea pig precision cut lung slices J Appl Physiol, May 1, 2008; 104(5): 1462 - 1469. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				R. G. Sturton, A. Trifilieff, A. G. Nicholson, and P. J. Barnes Pharmacological Characterization of Indacaterol, a Novel Once Daily Inhaled 2 Adrenoceptor Agonist, on Small Airways in Human and Rat Precision-Cut Lung Slices J. Pharmacol. Exp. Ther., January 1, 2008; 324(1): 270 - 275. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]