Respiratory models

Calu-3 cells have shown the ability to perform fatty acid esterification of budes-onide [132], In pre-clinical studies, this esterification results in a prolonged local tissue binding and efficacy, which is not found when the esterification is inhibited [133]. The precise mechanism remains undefined in that the identity of specific enzyme(s) responsible for this metabolic reaction is unclear [134], Assessment of the potential toxicity and metabolism of pharmaceuticals and other xenobiotics using in vitro respiratory models is still at its infancy. The development of robust in vitro human models (i.e., cell lines from human pulmonary origin) has the potential to contribute significantly to better understanding the role of biotransformation enzymes in the bioactivation/detoxication processes in the lung. 

I would like to thank Jonathan Renninger for his many technical and scientific contributions and Robert Coat-ney for his surgical contributions to the development of the respiratory models used in our laboratory. 

The archival function of models implies that they should also serve a valuable teaching function, as indeed they do in the physical sciences. Dynamic respiratory models, especially in their computerized interactive format, should be very valuable in teaching physiologists, medical students, and physicians the essence of normal and pathological pulmonary physiology. 

Available Respiratory Models to Predict Respiratory Toxicity or Understand Molecular Mechanisms of Toxicity Advantages and Limitations... 

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