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Reducing and replacing animal experiments

The German Primate Center is a partner in the research alliance for the development of alternative methods
Cell cultures "in vitro" (in the test tube) are important supplementation and replacement methods for animal experiments. Photo: Karin Tilch
Dr. Franziska Dahlmann ist Leiterin der Forschungsgruppe des Fraunhofer-Instituts für Toxikologie und Experimentelle Medizin (ITEM) am DPZ und eine der Partner des neuen Forschungsverbundes R2N. Foto: Karin Tilch
Dr. Franziska Dahlmann is head of the research group of the Fraunhofer Institute for Toxicology and Experimental Medicine (ITEM) at the DPZ and one of the partners of the new research group R2N. Photo: Karin Tilch. Photo: Karin Tilch

The Lower Saxony Ministry for Science and Culture is funding a new research network "R2N - replace and reduce from Lower Saxony - Replacement and Complementary methods for trend-setting biomedical research" with a total of 4.5 million euros over a period of four years. The aim of the project is to develop alternative methods in order to avoid experimenting on living animals and to limit the number of animal experiments to the bare minimum.

Scientists of the Infection Pathology Unit at the German Primate Center are participating in the research alliance. In cooperation with the Fraunhofer Institute for Toxicology and Experimental Medicine (ITEM) and the University of Veterinary Medicine in Hanover, the researchers want to create a “Biobank” for animal cell and tissue samples and by using lung sections, they intend to establish an alternative system to test for infections.

Franziska Dahlmann, head of the co-operation group between the DPZ and the Fraunhofer ITEM explains the advantage of such tissue sections: “The sections ensure that the lung cells are available in their natural form. Without the implementation of living animals, this method enables us to investigate the lung responses to viral infections much closer than in single-cell cultures."

The researchers of the group work in close cooperation with the Research Center for Emerging Infections and Zoonoses of the University of Veterinary Medicine under the leadership of the virologist Albert Osterhaus. With their many years of experience in the production and maintenance of such lung sections from monkeys, the DPZ researchers support the scientists of the University of Veterinary Medicine in the production of lung sections from other species. The lung sections can be implemented for infection experiments with, for example, influenza viruses.

To establish the “Biobank”, DPZ scientists also work in close cooperation with Wolfgang Baumgärtner, the head of the Institute of Pathology of the University of Veterinary Medicine in Hannover. In the future, the bank will provide a variety of different cell and tissue samples that scientists can use to carry out infection tests or to test active substances.

"By using cell cultures and organ slices we, intend to replace animal experiments, as far as possible," says Franziska Dahlmann. "Where the use of animals for certain questions cannot be avoided, we can try to significantly reduce the number of animals used in experiments."

Besides the development of alternative methods for basic research and transnational research, ethical questions will also be answered within the research alliance. To encourage the interaction of scientists, a network for alternative methods will be established.

In addition to the German Primate Center, the University of Veterinary Medicine in Hannover and the Fraunhofer ITEM, the Hannover Medical School, the Leibniz University of Hannover, the Göttingen University Medical Center and the TWINCORE Center for Experimental and Clinical Infection Research are partners in the R2N research alliance.