Invasive and noninvasive lung function measurements in rodents

Area of Science:

• Respiratory Physiology
• Pharmacology
• Toxicology

Background:

• Accurate in-vivo pulmonary function measurements are vital for respiratory disorder research, including asthma models.
• These measurements are essential for pharmacological, safety-pharmacological, and toxicological assessments of drugs and chemicals.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review typical in-vivo rodent pulmonary function measurement techniques.
• To detail the advantages and disadvantages of noninvasive head-out body plethysmography and invasive orotracheal intubation body plethysmography.
• To demonstrate the utility of these methods in monitoring bronchoconstriction and drug effects in asthma and safety pharmacology studies.

Main Methods:

• Noninvasive head-out body plethysmography.
• Invasive body plethysmography in orotracheally intubated rodents.
• Measurement and comparison of parameters like midexpiratory flow (EF50) and lung resistance in bronchoconstriction models.

Main Results:

• Both invasive and noninvasive pulmonary function tests can detect allergen-specific and non-allergic bronchoconstriction in mice and rats.
• Invasive determination of resistance offers superior sensitivity.
• Noninvasive EF50 is suitable for rapid screening and testing conscious animals in safety pharmacology.

Conclusions:

• Pulmonary function tests provide essential data on respiratory mechanics in various research settings.
• Invasive methods are more sensitive for resistance, while noninvasive methods are efficient for screening.
• Both techniques are valuable for studying respiratory disorders, asthma models, and drug effects in rodents.