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Human tissue models for a human disease: what are the barriers?
Joanna Edwards1, Maria Belvisi2, Sven-Erik Dahlen3
1National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research, London, UK.
Thorax
|January 30, 2015
Summary
Asthma research needs better human models. Focusing on human tissue studies can improve drug development and reduce reliance on less predictive animal models for this complex human disease.
Area of Science:
- Respiratory medicine
- Translational research
Background:
- Asthma presents a significant unmet medical need with limited new drug development over the last 50 years.
- Current asthma research heavily relies on non-human models, which have poor translation to human therapies due to asthma's unique human pathology.
Purpose of the Study:
- To propose a shift in asthma research focus towards human tissue studies.
- To enhance the clinical relevance of asthma models and improve therapeutic translation.
- To reduce the dependency on less predictive animal models in asthma research.
Main Methods:
- Conducted a survey of the UK asthma research community.
- Collaborated with key organizations: NC3Rs, Asthma UK, UK Respiratory Research Collaborative, and Human Tissue Authority.
Main Results:
- Identified a need for more clinically relevant asthma models.
- Survey results support the proposal for increased use of human tissue studies.
- Highlighted limitations of current animal models in predicting treatment efficacy.
Conclusions:
- Emphasizing human tissue studies offers a more predictive approach to asthma drug development.
- This shift can lead to more efficacious therapies for asthma patients.
- Reducing reliance on animal models is crucial for advancing asthma research.
