Alternative in vitro methods for the study of host-pathogen interactions in the lungs

Abstract

Respiratory diseases have a considerable health and economic impact on our society, whether they affect animals and/or humans. In order to better control, treat and predict them, it is necessary to have relevant, reproducible and efficient study models that are easy to use and alternative to animal experiments. Enormous methodological progress has been made in recent years in this field with the emergence of in vitro models that mimic the lung in terms of diversity of cell types, tissue architecture and specific functionalities (ciliary activity, secretion). This review presents advances in the generation of these models of the bovine lung, namely organoids, air-liquid-interface cultures (ALI) and thin precision-cut lung slices (PCLS). They are used to better describe and understand the pathophysiological processes induced by infections (viral, bacterial, parasitic) in the bovine lung and to test prophylactic or curative approaches.