Welcome to our internet platform, a ressource for information about scientific research which promotes the replacement of the use of animals.
The development of animal-free research methods has advanced rapidly in recent years. This website was created to support this increasingly important branch of research.
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Animal Welfare Research Award 2011 of the
German Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture
and Consumer Protection
Prof. Dr. Claus-Michael Lehr, Dr. Eva-Maria Collnot and Fransisca Leonard, from the Department of Biopharmaceutics and Pharmaceutical Biotechnology at Saarland University, und Dr. Jörn Hendrik Reuter, head of the department for experimental toxicology at Beiersdorf AG, are this year’s recipients of the animal welfare research award of the Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection (BMELV).
The prize-giving ceremony took place on 13 December in the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) in Berlin. The three recipients from Saarland University, Prof. Dr. Claus-Michael Lehr, Dr. Eva-Maria Collnot and Fransisca Leonard, were honoured for their development of a three-dimensional coculture system, comprising enterocytes, monocytes and dendritic cells. The model allows the in vitro simulation of colon inflammation in order to study changes in cell barrier properties after administering pharmaceutical drugs. The recipients already received the animal welfare award of the state Rhineland-Palatinate this summer. InVitroJobs reported on the method at the time and also interviewed Prof. Lehr.
From left to right: Parliamentary Secretary of State (BMELV) Peter Bleser, award recipients Fransziska Leonard, Dr. Eva-Maria Collnot, Prof. Dr. Claus-Michael Lehr, award recipient Dr. Jörn Hendrik Reuter (Beiersdorf AG) and BfR president PD. Dr. Dr. Andreas Hensel.
Foto: BfR / Friedmann-Marohn
Dr. Jörn Henrick Reuter, head of the department for in vitro toxicology at Beiersdorf AG, was honoured for his development of an in vitro assay which can be used as a component in test batteries for identifying skin-sensitising chemicals. The test uses monocytes (macrophage precursors) from the cell fraction left over after obtaining plasma from donor blood to cultivate dendritic cells, which play a central part in the skin’s immune response to foreign substances. The cells were cultivated and the test substance then administered to them. The foreign matter (contact allergen) activates the T cell immune response from the lymphatic system. The contact allergen forms protein complexes with the foreign matter, known as haptens. These carry specialised membrane proteins (in this case CD86), which can be recognised by the T cells. The dendritic cells with the surface protein then repeatedly reproduce clonally, which is why humans react allergically to certain substances. In the test the surface molecule – CD86 – is measured using flow cytometry.
The test has now also been augmented by a UV irradiation stage, as many contact allergens only become active following exposure to UV radiation. This new test can replace the local lymph node assay on mice.
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