Asbestos in peripheral lung culture a species comparison of pulmonary tissue response

We have recently developed culture techniques to allow the long-term maintenance of adult peripheral lung tissue in vitro from a variety of mammalian species including hamster, rat, bovine, and human. The technique involves perfusion of the major airways with agarose gel and culture media followed by thin sectioning and culture on porous surgical foam. Cross sections of lung lobes 1-2 mm thick have been cultured for periods beyond four weeks with maintenance of structural and biochemical integrity of the lung. In vitro exposure of lung explants to crocidolite asbestos through the airways produced fibrotic and hyperplastic lesions similar to those reported after in vivo exposure. The incidence and severity of interstitial fibrous was concentration-dependent, including the human specimens, and the morphologic appearance of the lesions was similar in explants derived from each species. The lung explant model is well suited for further mechanistic evaluations of asbestos-induced lung lesions. It is notable that the pulmonary lesions were produced without the possibility for recruitment of hematogenous inflammatory cell populations.