During the development of orally inhaled drugs, preclinical animal models regularly fail to predict pharmacological and toxicological responses in humans. Therefore, models based on human cells and tissues are potential alternatives to these animal models.

The new cell line, named "Arlo," has great similarity to primary human alveolar epithelial cells. In the laboratory, Arlo forms a very dense cell layer that is extremely similar to the human epithelium in the deep lung. It thus serves as a model for human alveolar epithelium as well as a building block for future, more complex in vitro models by combining it with other cell types. The cell line could also be used in the development of drugs against SARS-CoV-2, among other applications.

Original publication:
Carius P., Jungmann A., Bechtel M., Grißmer A., Boese A., Gasparoni G., Salhab A., Seipelt R., Urbschat K., Richter C., Meier C., Bojkova D., Cinatl J., Walter J., Schneider-Daum N.* and Lehr C.-. M.* (2023) A monoclonal human alveolar epithelial cell line ("Arlo") with pronounced barrier function for studying drug permeability and viral infections, Advanced Science, DOI: 10.1002/advs.202207301.

More information:
https://www.helmholtz-hzi.de/en/news-events/news/view/article/complete/neues-zellmodell-fuer-die-menschliche-lunge/