[1] Lung Injury (pigs)

the 'Pulmonary Engineering Group' (PEG, Dresden, Germany) has developed several models of acute lung injury in pigs

these models, using surfactant depletion, injurious ventilator settings, or LPS injection, can be combined multi–hit models

the models are used in investigations on innovative modes and concepts of ventilation, as well as mechanisms of ventilator–induced lung injury, including atelectrauma/volutrauma, subject–ventilator asynchrony, and mechanical power

find here full descriptions of the models in Critical Care Medicine (2016; 44:e854) and in Frontiers in Physiology (2021: 12:717269)

for more details visit the dedicated website of PEG

[2] Ventilation Models (rodents)

the 'Laboratory of Experimental Intensive Care and Anesthesiology' (L·E·I·C·A, AUMC, Amsterdam, the Netherlands) has developed models of injurious ventilation  in mice and rats

these model can serve for direct comparisons between non–injurious and injurious ventilation, and was used in various settings

find here a full description of the model in rats and mice in Critical Care Medicine (2016; 44:e1226) and in Critical Care (2019; 13:R1)

connect with Marcus Schultz for more details on this model

[3] Unilateral Lung Injury (pigs)

the 'Department of Anesthesia, General Intensive Care and Pain Management' (MUW, Vienna, Austria) has developed a model of strict unilateral Acute Lung Injury (ALI)

this model can serve for direct comparisons between the injured and intact lungs within single animals, thus, reducing the number of animals required for valid experimental conclusions

find here a full description of the model in Journal of Translational Medicine (2022; 20:548), American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine (2023; 209:829) and International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents (2024; in press)

connect with Edda Tschernko or Johannes Geilen for more details on this model

[4] Pleural Pressure (pigs)

PEG  has developed a technique to directly measure pleural pressures in animal models using custom–made pleural pressure sensors placed into the pleural space via video–assisted thoracoscopy

this technique allows the direct measurement of transpulmonary pressures in different lung regions of interest

find here full descriptions of the model in Critical Care Medicine (2019; 47:e358) and in British Journal of Anaesthesiology (2023; 130:e169)

for more details visit the dedicated website of PEG

[5] Microscopy & Imaging (pigs)

PEG  employs highly sensitive microscopic analyses using stereological methods in their models

they also measure pulmonary perfusion using fluorescence–labelled microspheres; by using PET–CT, they assess pulmonary aeration and ventilation, perfusion, and pulmonary neutrophilic inflammation; relative lung perfusion measurement is conducted using EIT

find here full descriptions of the models in American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine (2009; 15:179) and in British Journal of Anaesthesiology (2019: 123:246)

for more details visit the dedicated website of PEG

[6] Innovative Ventilation (pigs)

PEG  has sound expertise in unconventional ventilation modes and respiratory support concepts

in translational studies they investigate the effects and mechanisms of noisy ventilation, NAVA, flow–controlled ventilation, intrathoracic negative end–expiratory pressure and continuous external negative pressure ventilation; in addition, vv–ECMO and va–ECMO can be used

find here full descriptions of some of these model in Intensive Care Medicine Experimental (2020: 18:24) and in European Journal of Anaesthesiology (2021: 38:32)

for more details visit the dedicated website of PEG

[7] Extracellular Vesicles

MUW starts a project on MSC–derived EVs in experimental ARDS, using both a porcine large animal model and a rodent small animal model

lung function and injury are assessed through advanced physiological monitoring, histological and molecular analyses; effects on inflammation and repair, are evaluated to bridge mechanistic insight and translational relevance.

find here a full description of the large animal model used in this project in Journal of Translational Medicine (2022; 20:548), using Pseudomonas aeruginosa as a the cause of lung injury

connect with Edda Tschernko or Johannes Geilen for more details on this project