Prevalidation of a human cornea construct as an alternative to animal corneas for in vitro drug absorption studies.

The use of ophthalmic drugs has increased consistently over the past few decades. Currently, most research is conducted using in vivo and ex vivo animal experiments; however, they have many disadvantages, including ethical concerns, high costs, the questionable extension of animal results to humans, and poor standardization. Although several cell culture-based cornea models have been developed, none have been validated and accepted for general use.

Monolayers of porcine alveolar epithelial cells in primary culture as an in vitro model for drug absorption studies.

Filter-grown monolayers of porcine alveolar epithelial cells (pAEpC) in primary culture have been characterized as an in vitro model for pulmonary absorption screening of xenobiotics, including substrates of efflux systems. Experimental conditions and a protocol for transport experiments were optimized using transepithelial electrical resistances (TEER) and permeability of marker compounds as acceptance criteria. Since new drugs often feature poor water solubility, monolayer integrity in the presence of a solubilizer (dimethyl sulfoxide) was tested.

Porcine alveolar epithelial cells in primary culture: morphological, bioelectrical and immunocytochemical characterization.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to establish a primary culture of porcine lung epithelial cells as an alternative to the currently existing cell cultures from other species, such as e.g., rat or human.