Innovative Tools for Lung Research: Workshop on Precision-Cut Lung Slices

DZL Researcher Prof. Mareike Lehmann is the Lead Author of a Publication Summarizing the Findings of an American Thoracic Society (ATS) Workshop on Precision-Cut Lung Slices

Effective treatments for acute and chronic lung diseases remain urgently needed. Innovative research tools that enable new insights and facilitate the translation to clinical application play a central role in this process. Precision-cut lung slices (PCLS) have gained significant importance in recent years in supporting this process.

The American Thoracic Society (ATS) recently hosted a workshop with 35 experts on the topic of precision-cut lung slices (PCLS) to discuss the role of PCLS derived from human tissue in lung research and to establish consensus on methods, metrics, and technologies. This workshop was led by DZL scientist Prof. Mareike Lehmann from Philipps University of Marburg (UGMLC site), in collaboration with Prof. Melanie Königshoff (University of Pittsburgh, USA). The workshop results are summarized in a publication intended to serve as a guide for lung researchers interested in PCLS.

An Important Contribution to Targeted Treatments

PCLS, created from healthy and diseased human lung tissue, enable realistic simulations of the lung environment and open up new avenues in drug development. For example, PCLS can be exposed to agents, a drug, or harmful substances like cigarette smoke. Researchers can then examine molecular and biochemical processes at the cellular or tissue level using various methods and identify biomarkers or altered signaling pathways.

At the workshop, experts discussed consensus criteria and protocols to standardize methods such as tissue sampling and analysis, with the goal of achieving high-quality and comparable results. They also identified knowledge gaps and outlined key future research questions and potential applications. According to the experts, PCLS could play a critical role in the development of new, targeted therapies for lung diseases.

Original Publication: Lehmann M, Krishnan R, Sucre J et al. Precision Cut Lung Slices: Emerging Tools for Preclinical and Translational Lung Research. An Official American Thoracic Society Workshop Report. Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol. 2024 Nov 5. doi: 10.1165/rcmb.2024-0479ST. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 39499861.