Highly differentiated cultures of ferret airway epithelium for the study of respiratory viruses, including influenza

Ferrets are extensively used as the gold standard animal model for influenza virus infection. In particular they have been used recently to study influenza transmission, an unsolved issue that is key to understanding the emergence of pandemics. Transmission experiments are costly in terms of whole animal use and although they can tell us which viruses transmit, in isolation, they do not reveal why. The target tissue in the bottle-neck process of influenza transmission is the respiratory epithelium. Here we propose to develop primary cultures of ferret airway epithelium that will recapitulate the environment the virus must traverse to initiate infection in the new host. These cultures will enhance our understanding of the virus–host interaction by allowing detailed cell and molecular biology using a wider panel of virus variants than would be possible in whole animal experiments. The results will allow an informed reduction in animal use whilst at the same time enhancing the scientific explanation of respiratory virus transmission. Moreover as other human and animal respiratory viruses may also replicate in these primary cultures, the development of the methodology will be of use to many other medical and veterinary scientists who study the respiratory organ both as a physiological system and as a pathogen target.

• The 3Rs across Europe webinar series 2020: Reducing the use of animals for studying transmission of respiratory viruses
• Further Funding: NC3Rs Project Grant, Developing an in vitro approach to study transmission of respiratory viruses, February 2013, £399,896