Toward a common interpretation of the 3Rs principles in animal research.

Many scientific breakthroughs have depended on animal research, yet the ethical concerns surrounding the use of animals in experimentation have long prompted discussions about humane treatment and responsible scientific practice. First articulated by Russell and Burch, the 3Rs Principles of Replacement, Reduction, and Refinement have gained widespread recognition as basic guidelines for animal research. Over time, the 3Rs have transcended the research community, influencing policy decisions, animal welfare advocacy and public perception of animal experimentation.

Preparation of a universally usable, animal product free, defined medium for 2D and 3D culturing of normal and cancer cells.

Since 1958, cell culture media supplemented with fetal bovine serum is used, despite the well-known concerns about animal welfare, reproducibility, reliability, relevance, and safety. To obliterate these concerns and increase scientific accuracy, we recently published an open access, publicly available paper on a defined medium composition to make it possible for any lab to prepare this medium. The medium supports routine culturing and cell banking as well as investigations of growth curves, dose response testing of compounds of cells in 2D and 3D, and cell migration; all important aspects for research and toxicology.

modeling to uncover cues involved in establishing microglia identity: TGF-β3 and laminin can drive microglia signature gene expression.

Microglia are the resident macrophages of the central nervous system (CNS) and play a key role in CNS development, homeostasis, and disease. Good models are indispensable to study their cellular biology, and although much progress has been made, cultures of primary microglia still only partially recapitulate the transcriptome of microglia. In this study, we explored a combination of and methodologies to gain insight into cues that are involved in the induction or maintenance of the microglia reference transcriptome.