About this Research Topic

Background

Respiratory diseases are a worldwide leading cause of disability and mortality. Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) alone with 200M patients is the third leading cause of death worldwide. Moreover, lung cancer (i.e. the most common worldwide), acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis as well as infectious diseases (e.g. pneumonia, tuberculosis) are either fatal diseases or pathologies exhibiting high mortality rates. Few new compounds that are safe show efficacy and have eventually emerged as new therapeutic options; treatments approved have mainly consisted in improvements on existing classes of drug. There is an ongoing and unmet need in treating respiratory diseases. One critical issue lies in the existing discrepancy between the performance of therapeutic candidates in preclinical in vivo animal models and their disproportionately high failure rate for safety and/or efficacy upon reaching the stage of clinical trials.

This Research Topic will shed light on new research efforts aimed at overcoming the enduring disconnect between predictive capacities of pre-clinical in vivo animal models and delivering novel therapeutics to the human lungs. To this end, we aim to attract novel in vitro models and platforms capable of mimicking more accurately respiratory human physiology, in both health and disease. This is especially critical when considering the transport and delivery of respiratory (inhaled) medicine, in conjunction with their effects on lung tissue including importantly (nano)particle translocation processes across the lung air-blood barrier. As a highly-intricate organ exhibiting a multiscale challenge to replicate in vitro with adequate biological function, the Research Topic will focus on bioengineered platforms including, but not limited to, microfluidics/organ-on-chips, bio-printing, organoids, etc. This covers the development of advanced tissue models highlighting the interplay between structure and function of airway barriers, using advanced biomaterials. Beyond showcasing novel pre-clinical in vitro lung models, the Research Topic aims to feature new proof-of-concepts in respiratory drug delivery strategies including inhalation assays and cytotoxicity.

This Research Topic welcomes submissions related to the following themes:
• Establishing novel pre-clinical in vitro human lung models
• Alternatives to in vivo animal experiments
• Advances in developing physiological in vitro inhalation assays
• Furthering lung disease modeling using in vitro lung cell cultures
• Proof-of-concepts for novel respiratory drug delivery strategies
• Understanding particle and/or drug interactions with lung tissue barriers

Keywords: Lung Disease, Respiratory Therapy, Pre-Clinical Models, In Vitro Systems, Efficacy/Safety

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

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