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Grandi A, Ferrini E, Zoboli M, Buseghin D, Pennati F, Khalajzeyqami Z, Ciccimarra R, Villetti G, Stellari FF. A mouse model of progressive lung fibrosis with cutaneous involvement induced by a combination of oropharyngeal and osmotic minipump bleomycin delivery. Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol 2024; 326:L736-L753. [PMID: 38651940 DOI: 10.1152/ajplung.00408.2023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2023] [Revised: 03/01/2024] [Accepted: 03/22/2024] [Indexed: 04/25/2024] Open
Abstract
Systemic sclerosis (SSc) with interstitial lung disease (SSc-ILD) lacks curative pharmacological treatments, thus necessitating effective animal models for candidate drug discovery. Existing bleomycin (BLM)-induced SSc-ILD mouse models feature spatially limited pulmonary fibrosis, spontaneously resolving after 28 days. Here, we present an alternative BLM administration approach in female C57BL/6 mice, combining oropharyngeal aspiration (OA) and subcutaneous mini-pump delivery (pump) of BLM to induce a sustained and more persistent fibrosis, while retaining stable skin fibrosis. A dose-finding study was performed with BLM administered as 10 µg (OA) +80 mg/kg (pump) (10 + 80), 10 + 100, and 15 + 100. Forty-two days after OA, micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) imaging and histomorphometric analyses showed that the 10 + 100 and 15 + 100 treatments induced significant alterations in lung micro-CT-derived readouts, Ashcroft score, and more severe fibrosis grades compared with saline controls. In addition, a marked reduction in hypodermal thickness was observed in the 15 + 100 group. A time-course characterization of the BLM 15 + 100 treatment at days 28, 35, and 42, including longitudinal micro-CT imaging, revealed progressing alterations in lung parameters. Lung histology highlighted a sustained fibrosis accompanied by a reduction in hypodermis thickness throughout the explored time-window, with a time-dependent increase in fibrotic biomarkers detected by immunofluorescence analysis. BLM-induced alterations were partly mitigated by Nintedanib treatment. Our optimized BLM delivery approach leads to extensive and persistent lung fibrotic lesions coupled with cutaneous fibrotic alterations: it thus represents a significant advance compared with current preclinical models of BLM-induced SSc-ILD.NEW & NOTEWORTHY This study introduces an innovative approach to enhance the overall performance of the mouse bleomycin (BLM)-induced model for systemic sclerosis with interstitial lung disease (SSc-ILD). By combining oropharyngeal aspiration and subcutaneous mini-pump delivery of BLM, our improved model leads to sustained lung fibrosis and stable skin fibrosis in female C57BL/6 mice. The optimized 15 + 100 treatment results in extensive and persistent lung fibrotic lesions and thus represents a significant improvement over existing preclinical models of BLM-induced SSc-ILD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Grandi
- Chiesi Farmaceutici S.p.A., Corporate Pre-Clinical R&D, Parma, Italy
| | - Erica Ferrini
- Chiesi Farmaceutici S.p.A., Corporate Pre-Clinical R&D, Parma, Italy
- Department of Veterinary Science, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
| | - Matteo Zoboli
- Department of Veterinary Science, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
| | - Davide Buseghin
- Chiesi Farmaceutici S.p.A., Corporate Pre-Clinical R&D, Parma, Italy
- Dipartimento di Elettronica, Informazione e Bioingegneria, Politecnico di Milano, Milan, Italy
- ANTHEM (AdvaNced Technologies for Human-centrEd Medicine), Milan, Italy
| | - Francesca Pennati
- Dipartimento di Elettronica, Informazione e Bioingegneria, Politecnico di Milano, Milan, Italy
| | - Zahra Khalajzeyqami
- Department of Veterinary Medical Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | | | - Gino Villetti
- Chiesi Farmaceutici S.p.A., Corporate Pre-Clinical R&D, Parma, Italy
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Cao X, Yu C, Cheng S, Wang Y, Zhang Z, Huang J. Co-Delivery of Astaxanthin and si TGF-β1 via Ionizable Liposome Nanoparticles for Improved Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis Therapy. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2024. [PMID: 38597290 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.4c01953] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/11/2024]
Abstract
Alleviating the injury of type II alveolar epithelial cells (AEC 2s) and inhibiting the activation and differentiation of fibroblasts are significant for improving the therapeutic effect of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). To this aim, ionizable liposome nanoparticles (ASNPs) coloaded with antioxidant drug astaxanthin (AST) and small interfering RNA targeting transforming growth factor β1 (siTGF-β1) were developed for enhanced IPF therapy. ASNPs showed high loading and intracellular delivery efficiency for AST and siTGF-β1. After the injection of ASNPs in an IPF mice model, the loaded AST largely scavenged reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the diseased lung to reduce AEC2 apoptosis, thereby ensuring the integrity of the alveolar epithelium. Meanwhile, siTGF-β1, delivered by ASNPs, significantly silenced the expression of TGF-β1 in fibroblasts, inhibiting the differentiation of fibroblasts into myofibroblasts as well as reducing the excessive deposition of extracellular matrix (ECM). The combined use of the two drugs exhibited an excellent synergistic antifibrotic effect and was conducive to minimizing alveolar epithelial damage. This work provides a codelivery strategy of AST and siTGF-β1, which shows great promise for the treatment of IPF by simultaneously reducing alveolar epithelial damage and inhibiting fibroblast activation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoling Cao
- School of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics, University of Science and Technology of China institution, Hefei 230026, China
- Organoid Innovation Center, CAS Key Laboratory of Nano-Bio Interface, Division of Nanobiomedicine, Suzhou Institute of Nano-Tech and Nano-bionics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Suzhou 215123, China
| | - Chenggong Yu
- School of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics, University of Science and Technology of China institution, Hefei 230026, China
- Organoid Innovation Center, CAS Key Laboratory of Nano-Bio Interface, Division of Nanobiomedicine, Suzhou Institute of Nano-Tech and Nano-bionics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Suzhou 215123, China
| | - Shengnan Cheng
- School of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics, University of Science and Technology of China institution, Hefei 230026, China
- Organoid Innovation Center, CAS Key Laboratory of Nano-Bio Interface, Division of Nanobiomedicine, Suzhou Institute of Nano-Tech and Nano-bionics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Suzhou 215123, China
| | - Yuhan Wang
- School of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics, University of Science and Technology of China institution, Hefei 230026, China
- Organoid Innovation Center, CAS Key Laboratory of Nano-Bio Interface, Division of Nanobiomedicine, Suzhou Institute of Nano-Tech and Nano-bionics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Suzhou 215123, China
| | - Zhijun Zhang
- School of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics, University of Science and Technology of China institution, Hefei 230026, China
- Organoid Innovation Center, CAS Key Laboratory of Nano-Bio Interface, Division of Nanobiomedicine, Suzhou Institute of Nano-Tech and Nano-bionics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Suzhou 215123, China
| | - Jie Huang
- School of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics, University of Science and Technology of China institution, Hefei 230026, China
- Organoid Innovation Center, CAS Key Laboratory of Nano-Bio Interface, Division of Nanobiomedicine, Suzhou Institute of Nano-Tech and Nano-bionics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Suzhou 215123, China
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3
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Pennati F, Belenkov S, Buccardi M, Ferrini E, Sverzellati N, Villetti G, Aliverti A, Stellari FF. Multiphase micro-computed tomography reconstructions provide dynamic respiratory function in a mouse lung fibrosis model. iScience 2024; 27:109262. [PMID: 38433926 PMCID: PMC10907835 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2024.109262] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2023] [Revised: 12/13/2023] [Accepted: 02/14/2024] [Indexed: 03/05/2024] Open
Abstract
Micro-computed tomography derived functional biomarkers used in lung disease research can significantly complement end-stage histomorphometric measures while also allowing for longitudinal studies. However, no approach for visualizing lung dynamics across a full respiratory cycle has yet been described. Using bleomycin-induced lung fibrosis and the antifibrotic drug nintedanib as a test model, we implemented a four-dimensional (4D) micro-CT imaging approach consisting of 30 reconstructed volumes per respiratory cycle, coupled with deep-learning-assisted segmentation of lung volumes. 4D micro-CT provided an accurate description of inhalatory and exhalatory lung dynamics under resting conditions and revealed an inflammation-related obstructive pattern at day 7, followed by a restrictive pattern associated with fibrosis development at day 21. A milder restriction and fibrotic pathology resulted from nintedanib treatment. The similarity of 4D micro-CT data with those produced by diagnostic measurements, also points to its great potential as an exploratory tool for the discovery of clinically relevant therapeutic compounds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesca Pennati
- Dipartimento di Elettronica, Informazione e Bioingegneria, Politecnico di Milano, Milano, Italy
| | | | - Martina Buccardi
- Department of Mathematical, Physical and Computer Sciences, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
| | - Erica Ferrini
- Department of Veterinary Science, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
| | | | - Gino Villetti
- Pharmacology and Toxicology Department Corporate Pre-Clinical R&D, Chiesi Farmaceutici S.p.A., Parma, Italy
| | - Andrea Aliverti
- Dipartimento di Elettronica, Informazione e Bioingegneria, Politecnico di Milano, Milano, Italy
| | - Franco Fabio Stellari
- Pharmacology and Toxicology Department Corporate Pre-Clinical R&D, Chiesi Farmaceutici S.p.A., Parma, Italy
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Lai R, Zhao C, Guo W, Xiao Y, Li R, Liu L, Pan H. The longitudinal and regional analysis of bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis in mice by microcomputed tomography. Heliyon 2023; 9:e15681. [PMID: 37180915 PMCID: PMC10173631 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e15681] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2022] [Revised: 04/15/2023] [Accepted: 04/18/2023] [Indexed: 05/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction Microcomputed tomography (micro-CT) is powerful for assessment of the progression of lung fibrosis in animal model, but current whole lung analysis (WLA) methods are time-consuming. Here, a longitudinal and regional analysis (LRA) method was developed to assess fibrosis easily and quickly by micro-CT. Method Firstly, we investigated the distribution pattern of lesions in BLM-induced pulmonary fibrosis mice. Then, the VOIs for LRA were selected based on the anatomical locations and we compared the robustness, accuracy, repeatability, analysis time of LRA to WLA. Additionally, LRA was applied to assess different stages of pulmonary fibrosis, and was validated with conventional endpoint measurements (such as lung hydroxyproline and histopathology). Results The lesions of fibrosis in 66 bleomycin (BLM)-induced pulmonary fibrosis mice were mostly in the middle and upper parts of lungs. By applying LRA, the percentages of high-density voxels in selected volumes of interest (VOIs) were well correlated with that in WLA both at Day 7 and Day 21 after bleomycin induction (R2 = 0.8784 and 0.8464, respectively). The relative standard deviation (RSD) of the percentage of high-density voxels in the VOIs was lower than that of WLA (P < 0.05). The cost time of LRA was shorter than that of WLA (P < 0.05) and the accuracy of LRA was further confirmed by the histological analysis and biochemical quantification of hydroxyproline. Conclusion LRA is probably an easier and more time-saving method to assess fibrosis formation and evaluate treatment efficacy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruogu Lai
- State Key Laboratory of Quality Research in Chinese Medicine, Macau University of Science and Technology, Macau, China
| | - Caiping Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Quality Research in Chinese Medicine, Macau University of Science and Technology, Macau, China
| | - Wanyi Guo
- State Key Laboratory of Quality Research in Chinese Medicine, Macau University of Science and Technology, Macau, China
| | - Yao Xiao
- State Key Laboratory of Dampness Syndrome of Chinese Medicine, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, 510000, China
| | - Runze Li
- State Key Laboratory of Dampness Syndrome of Chinese Medicine, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, 510000, China
| | - Liang Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Quality Research in Chinese Medicine, Macau University of Science and Technology, Macau, China
- State Key Laboratory of Dampness Syndrome of Chinese Medicine, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, 510000, China
- Corresponding author. State Key Laboratory of Quality Research in Chinese Medicine, Macau University of Science and Technology, Macau, China.
| | - Hudan Pan
- State Key Laboratory of Dampness Syndrome of Chinese Medicine, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, 510000, China
- Corresponding author.
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Pennati F, Leo L, Ferrini E, Sverzellati N, Bernardi D, Stellari FF, Aliverti A. Micro-CT-derived ventilation biomarkers for the longitudinal assessment of pathology and response to therapy in a mouse model of lung fibrosis. Sci Rep 2023; 13:4462. [PMID: 36932122 PMCID: PMC10023700 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-30402-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2022] [Accepted: 02/22/2023] [Indexed: 03/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Experimental in-vivo animal models are key tools to investigate the pathogenesis of lung disease and to discover new therapeutics. Histopathological and biochemical investigations of explanted lung tissue are currently considered the gold standard, but they provide space-localized information and are not amenable to longitudinal studies in individual animals. Here, we present an imaging procedure that uses micro-CT to extract morpho-functional indicators of lung pathology in a murine model of lung fibrosis. We quantified the decrease of lung ventilation and measured the antifibrotic effect of Nintedanib. A robust structure-function relationship was revealed by cumulative data correlating micro-CT with histomorphometric endpoints. The results highlight the potential of in-vivo micro-CT biomarkers as novel tools to monitor the progression of inflammatory and fibrotic lung disease and to shed light on the mechanism of action of candidate drugs. Our platform is also expected to streamline translation from preclinical studies to human patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesca Pennati
- Dipartimento di Elettronica, Informazione e Bioingegneria, Politecnico di Milano, Milano, Italy
| | - Ludovica Leo
- Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
| | - Erica Ferrini
- Department of Veterinary Science, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
| | | | - Davide Bernardi
- Department of Veterinary Science, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
| | - Franco Fabio Stellari
- Pharmacology and Toxicology Department Corporate Pre-Clinical R&D, Chiesi Farmaceutici S.P.A., Largo Belloli 11/A 43122, Parma, Italy.
| | - Andrea Aliverti
- Dipartimento di Elettronica, Informazione e Bioingegneria, Politecnico di Milano, Milano, Italy
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Principi L, Ferrini E, Ciccimarra R, Pagani L, Chinello C, Previtali P, Smith A, Villetti G, Zoboli M, Ravanetti F, Stellari FF, Magni F, Piga I. Proteomic Fingerprint of Lung Fibrosis Progression and Response to Therapy in Bleomycin-Induced Mouse Model. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:ijms24054410. [PMID: 36901840 PMCID: PMC10002924 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24054410] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2022] [Revised: 02/14/2023] [Accepted: 02/16/2023] [Indexed: 02/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a chronic lung disease characterized by the aberrant accumulation of extracellular matrix in the lungs. nintedanib is one of the two FDA-approved drugs for IPF treatment; however, the exact pathophysiological mechanisms of fibrosis progression and response to therapy are still poorly understood. In this work, the molecular fingerprint of fibrosis progression and response to nintedanib treatment have been investigated by mass spectrometry-based bottom-up proteomics in paraffin-embedded lung tissues from bleomycin-induced (BLM) pulmonary fibrosis mice. Our proteomics results unveiled that (i) samples clustered depending on the tissue fibrotic grade (mild, moderate, and severe) and not on the time course after BLM treatment; (ii) the dysregulation of different pathways involved in fibrosis progression such as the complement coagulation cascades, advanced glycation end products (AGEs) and their receptors (RAGEs) signaling, the extracellular matrix-receptor interaction, the regulation of actin cytoskeleton, and ribosomes; (iii) Coronin 1A (Coro1a) as the protein with the highest correlation when evaluating the progression of fibrosis, with an increased expression from mild to severe fibrosis; and (iv) a total of 10 differentially expressed proteins (padj-value ≤ 0.05 and Fold change ≤-1.5 or ≥1.5), whose abundance varied in the base of the severity of fibrosis (mild and moderate), were modulated by the antifibrotic treatment with nintedanib, reverting their trend. Notably, nintedanib significantly restored lactate dehydrogenase B (Ldhb) expression but not lactate dehydrogenase A (Ldha). Notwithstanding the need for further investigations to validate the roles of both Coro1a and Ldhb, our findings provide an extensive proteomic characterization with a strong relationship with histomorphometric measurements. These results unveil some biological processes in pulmonary fibrosis and drug-mediated fibrosis therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucrezia Principi
- Clinical Proteomics and Metabolomics Unit, Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Milano-Bicocca, 20854 Monza, Italy
| | - Erica Ferrini
- Department of Veterinary Science, University of Parma, 43122 Parma, Italy
| | - Roberta Ciccimarra
- Department of Veterinary Science, University of Parma, 43122 Parma, Italy
| | - Lisa Pagani
- Clinical Proteomics and Metabolomics Unit, Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Milano-Bicocca, 20854 Monza, Italy
| | - Clizia Chinello
- Clinical Proteomics and Metabolomics Unit, Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Milano-Bicocca, 20854 Monza, Italy
| | - Paolo Previtali
- Clinical Proteomics and Metabolomics Unit, Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Milano-Bicocca, 20854 Monza, Italy
| | - Andrew Smith
- Clinical Proteomics and Metabolomics Unit, Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Milano-Bicocca, 20854 Monza, Italy
| | - Gino Villetti
- Experimental Pharmacology & Translational Science Department, Chiesi Farmaceutici S.p.A., 43122 Parma, Italy
| | - Matteo Zoboli
- Department of Veterinary Science, University of Parma, 43122 Parma, Italy
| | | | - Franco Fabio Stellari
- Experimental Pharmacology & Translational Science Department, Chiesi Farmaceutici S.p.A., 43122 Parma, Italy
- Correspondence: (F.F.S.); (I.P.)
| | - Fulvio Magni
- Clinical Proteomics and Metabolomics Unit, Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Milano-Bicocca, 20854 Monza, Italy
| | - Isabella Piga
- Clinical Proteomics and Metabolomics Unit, Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Milano-Bicocca, 20854 Monza, Italy
- Correspondence: (F.F.S.); (I.P.)
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Grandi A, Ferrini E, Mecozzi L, Ciccimarra R, Zoboli M, Leo L, Khalajzeyqami Z, Kleinjan A, Löwik CWGM, Donofrio G, Villetti G, Stellari FF. Indocyanine-enhanced mouse model of bleomycin-induced lung fibrosis with hallmarks of progressive emphysema. Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol 2023; 324:L211-L227. [PMID: 36625471 PMCID: PMC9925167 DOI: 10.1152/ajplung.00180.2022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
The development of new drugs for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis strongly relies on preclinical experimentation, which requires the continuous improvement of animal models and integration with in vivo imaging data. Here, we investigated the lung distribution of bleomycin (BLM) associated with the indocyanine green (ICG) dye by fluorescence imaging. A long-lasting lung retention (up to 21 days) was observed upon oropharyngeal aspiration (OA) of either ICG or BLM + ICG, with significantly more severe pulmonary fibrosis, accompanied by the progressive appearance of emphysema-like features, uniquely associated with the latter combination. More severe and persistent lung fibrosis, together with a progressive air space enlargement uniquely associated with the BLM + ICG group, was confirmed by longitudinal micro-computed tomography (CT) and histological analyses. Multiple inflammation and fibrosis biomarkers were found to be increased in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid of BLM- and BLM + ICG-treated animals, but with a clear trend toward a much stronger increase in the latter group. Similarly, in vitro assays performed on macrophage and epithelial cell lines revealed a significantly more marked cytotoxicity in the case of BLM + ICG-treated mice. Also unique to this group was the synergistic upregulation of apoptotic markers both in lung sections and cell lines. Although the exact mechanism underlying the more intense lung fibrosis phenotype with emphysema-like features induced by BLM + ICG remains to be elucidated, we believe that this combination treatment, whose overall effects more closely resemble the human disease, represents a valuable alternative model for studying fibrosis development and for the identification of new antifibrotic compounds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Grandi
- 1Chiesi Farmaceutici S.p.A., Corporate Pre-Clinical R&D, Parma, Italy
| | - Erica Ferrini
- 2Department of Veterinary Science, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
| | - Laura Mecozzi
- 3Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
| | | | - Matteo Zoboli
- 2Department of Veterinary Science, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
| | - Ludovica Leo
- 3Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
| | - Zahra Khalajzeyqami
- 4Department of Veterinary Medical Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Alex Kleinjan
- 5Department of Pulmonary Medicine, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Clemens W. G. M. Löwik
- 6Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Gaetano Donofrio
- 2Department of Veterinary Science, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
| | - Gino Villetti
- 1Chiesi Farmaceutici S.p.A., Corporate Pre-Clinical R&D, Parma, Italy
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8
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Khalajzeyqami Z, Grandi A, Ferrini E, Ravanetti F, Leo L, Mambrini M, Giardino L, Villetti G, Stellari FF. Pivotal role of micro-CT technology in setting up an optimized lung fibrosis mouse model for drug screening. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0270005. [PMID: 35704641 PMCID: PMC9200302 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0270005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2021] [Accepted: 06/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a progressive disease with no curative pharmacological treatment. The most used animal model of IPF for anti-fibrotic drug screening is bleomycin (BLM)-induced lung fibrosis. However, several issues have been reported: the balance among disease resolution, an appropriate time window for therapeutic intervention and animal welfare remain critical aspects yet to be fully elucidated. In this study, C57Bl/6 male mice were treated with BLM via oropharyngeal aspiration (OA) following either double or triple administration. The fibrosis progression was longitudinally assessed by micro-CT every 7 days for 4 weeks after BLM administration. Quantitative micro-CT measurements highlighted that triple BLM administration was the ideal dose regimen to provoke sustained lung fibrosis up to 28 days. These results were corroborated with lung histology and Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid cells. We have developed a mouse model with prolonged lung fibrosis enabling three weeks of a curative therapeutic window for the screening of putative anti-fibrotic drugs. Moreover, we have demonstrated the pivotal role of longitudinal micro-CT imaging in reducing the number of animals required per experiment in which each animal can be its own control. This approach permits a valuable decrease in costs and time to develop disease animal models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zahra Khalajzeyqami
- Department of Veterinary Medical Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Andrea Grandi
- Pharmacology & Toxicology Department, Chiesi Farmaceutici S.p.A., Corporate Pre-ClinicalR&D, Parma, Italy
| | - Erica Ferrini
- Department of Veterinary Science, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
| | | | - Ludovica Leo
- Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
| | - Martina Mambrini
- Department of Veterinary Science, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
| | - Luciana Giardino
- Department of Veterinary Medical Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Gino Villetti
- Pharmacology & Toxicology Department, Chiesi Farmaceutici S.p.A., Corporate Pre-ClinicalR&D, Parma, Italy
| | - Franco Fabio Stellari
- Pharmacology & Toxicology Department, Chiesi Farmaceutici S.p.A., Corporate Pre-ClinicalR&D, Parma, Italy
- * E-mail:
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9
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The importance of routine quality control for reproducible pulmonary measurements by in vivo micro-CT. Sci Rep 2022; 12:9695. [PMID: 35690601 PMCID: PMC9188608 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-13477-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2021] [Accepted: 05/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Micro-computed tomography (CT) imaging provides densitometric and functional assessment of lung diseases in animal models, playing a key role either in understanding disease progression or in drug discovery studies. The generation of reliable and reproducible experimental data is strictly dependent on a system's stability. Quality controls (QC) are essential to monitor micro-CT performance but, although QC procedures are standardized and routinely employed in clinical practice, detailed guidelines for preclinical imaging are lacking. In this work, we propose a routine QC protocol for in vivo micro-CT, based on three commercial phantoms. To investigate the impact of a detected scanner drift on image post-processing, a retrospective analysis using twenty-two healthy mice was performed and lung density histograms used to compare the area under curve (AUC), the skewness and the kurtosis before and after the drift. As expected, statistically significant differences were found for all the selected parameters [AUC 532 ± 31 vs. 420 ± 38 (p < 0.001); skewness 2.3 ± 0.1 vs. 2.5 ± 0.1 (p < 0.001) and kurtosis 4.2 ± 0.3 vs. 5.1 ± 0.5 (p < 0.001)], confirming the importance of the designed QC procedure to obtain a reliable longitudinal quantification of disease progression and drug efficacy evaluation.
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10
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Ferrini E, Leo L, Corsi L, Catozzi C, Salomone F, Ragionieri L, Pennati F, Stellari FF. A new anesthesia protocol enabling longitudinal lung function measurements in neonatal rabbits by micro-CT. Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol 2021; 321:L1206-L1214. [PMID: 34786984 DOI: 10.1152/ajplung.00328.2021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Micro-CT imaging is an emerging technology with many applications in small animals, e.g. the study of pulmonary diseases, although clear guidelines and critical mass of evidence are still missing in the preclinical literature. The neonatal rabbit is a valuable model for studying pulmonary development. However, the longitudinal monitoring of lung function by micro-CT can be challenging. Distinctive datasets corresponding to the end-inspiration and end-expiration phases need to be generated and analyzed to derive lung functional parameters. The quality of CT scans and the reliability of parameters obtained remains highly dependent on the anesthesia protocol used. Three different anesthetic protocols were tested. The combination of dexmedetomidine 0.25 mg/kg injected intraperitoneally followed by 1% isoflurane was found to facilitate CT imaging at 4 and 11 days after birth. Contrarily, isoflurane and ketamine plus xylazine were found unsuitable, and thus not investigated further. Total lung volumes significantly increased at day 11 compared to baseline in both respiratory phases, while lung tissue remained constant. As expected, functional residual capacity, air/tissue ratio and minute ventilation were significantly increased at day 11 in each animal. Those parameters were correlated with inspiratory capacity, compliance, elastance and resistance of both respiratory system and tissue component, as measured by flexiVent. Lung development was also evaluated by histomorphometric analyses. In conclusion, we have identified a safe and suitable anesthesia protocol for micro-CT imaging in neonatal rabbits. Moreover, the possibility to longitudinally measure lung function in the same subject dramatically reduced the intra-experimental variability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erica Ferrini
- Department of Veterinary Science, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
| | - Ludovica Leo
- Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
| | - Luisa Corsi
- Chiesi Farmaceutici S.p.A., Corporate Pre-Clinical R&D, Parma, Italy
| | - Chiara Catozzi
- Chiesi Farmaceutici S.p.A., Corporate Pre-Clinical R&D, Parma, Italy
| | - Fabrizio Salomone
- Chiesi Farmaceutici S.p.A., Corporate Pre-Clinical R&D, Parma, Italy
| | - Luisa Ragionieri
- Department of Veterinary Science, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
| | - Francesca Pennati
- Department of Electronics, Information, and Bioengineering, Politecnico di Milano, Milan, Italy
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