Understanding the structure and function of the human respiratory system for the design of lung tissues
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Understanding the structure and function of the human respiratory system for the design of lung tissues
Wed, 13/10/2021 - 13:30 to 14:30
Location:
Speaker:
Barbara Rothen-Rutishauser
Affiliation:
Adolphe Merkle Institute, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland
Synopsis:
The lung is a complex organ whose main function is to enable gas exchange between air and venous blood. The replication of lung components as close to the natural conditions requires a detailed understanding of the anatomy of the respiratory tract. This anatomy consists of a tree-like arrangement of branched airways connected to the single trachea, followed by millions of alveoli, i.e. the lung parenchyma. With each breath we inhale not only oxygen, but also millions of particles, and the size of the particles determines their deposition in the respective respiratory tract compartment. In general, the smaller the particles are the deeper they can penetrate into the lung.
Numerous airway tissue models of the human airway and lung parenchyma have been developed to support the 3Rs (Replace, Reduce, Refine) concept in inhalation toxicology research and for drug development, but the choice of model and type of particle exposure depends on the particular scenario being studied.
This seminar will provide an overview of human lung structure and functional aspects such as particle inhalation and clearance mechanisms, and summarize the current challenges in developing relevant lung cell models.
Biography:
Prof. Dr Barbara Rothen-Rutishauser received her PhD in 1996 in cell biology at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETHZ). She worked as a postdoc and group leader at ETHZ and the University of Bern, Switzerland. She is an expert in the field of cell-nanoparticle interactions, with a particular focus on 3D human lung tissue models. Since 2011, she is the chair in BioNanomaterials at the Adolphe Merkle Institute, University of Fribourg, Switzerland, the position is shared equally with Prof. Alke Fink. Prof. Rothen-Rutishauser has published more than 300 peer-reviewed papers, she is an associate editor of “Particle and Fibre Toxicology”, and is currently president of the International Society of Aerosols in Medicine (ISAM).