Nasal drug transport studies cell culture models

Ethical issues as well as difficulty in obtaining enough human nasal tissue specimens have called for the need to use alternative in vitro and in vivo methods. Various in vivo animal models and in vitro excised tissue models have been described in the literature for nasal drug transport studies. However, due to the difficulty in both controlling the experimental conditions in in vivo animal models and obtaining intact excised tissue samples, in vitro cell culture models are also being actively developed. 

Cultured nasal cells are reliable models for drug transport and metabolism studies, since they are known to express important biological features (e.g. tight junctions, mucin secretion, cilia, and various transporters), resembling those found in vivo systems. Moreover, easy control of experimental conditions as well as separation of the permeation step from the subsequent absorption cascade is also possible. A relatively simple primary culture condition using human nasal epithelial cells for in vitro drug transport studies has been established and applied in transport and metabolism studies of drugs. It is known that the culture condition and/or selection of culture media are critical in the recapitulation of well-differentiation features of in vivo nasal mucosal epithelium [46],... 

U. Werner and T. Kissel. In-vitro cell culture models of the nasal epithelium A comparative histochemical investigation of their suitability for drug transport studies. Pharm Res 13 978-988 (1996). 

Discussion of specific cell types characteristic of the epithelial cells along the respiratory tract and corresponding cell culture models for studying nasal and pulmonary drug transport are separated below, with generally more focus on the airway (tracheal and bronchial) epithelium and the alveolar epithelium. 

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