Pig Bronchiolar Tissue Extraction: A Procedure to Dissect Bronchiolar Tissue Sections From Porcine Lungs

Abstract

Source: Harrington, N. E. et al. Antibiotic Efficacy Testing in an Ex vivo Model of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus Biofilms in the Cystic Fibrosis Lung. J. Vis. Exp. (2021)

In this video, we describe a surgical procedure to extract bronchiolar tissues from harvested pig lung. The ex vivo bronchiolar tissue could be used to develop infection models for studying chronic lung infections.

Protocol

All procedures involving animal models have been reviewed by the local institutional animal care committee and the JoVE veterinary review board. 1. Dissection of ex vivo pig lung (EVPL) tissue Obtain lungs from the designated source as soon as possible after slaughter, ensuring they are kept cold by transporting to the laboratory in a domestic cool box. NOTE: Lungs closer to the day of slaughter show less bruising from storage, but tissue kept on cold storag…

Materials

70% ethanol or similar for surface sterilizaton and flamin gof dissection equipment
Aluminum foil – pre-sterilised by autoclaving – to cover the chopping board on whcih you wil dissect lungs
Bunsen burner
Chopping board – we recommend a plastic board to allow for easy decontamination with alcohol.
Coolbox to transport lungs to lab
Dissection scissors in different sizes
Dulbecco's modified Eagle medium (DMEM)
Fisherbrand 2 mL reinforced tubes	Thermo Fisher	15545809
Large pallet knife
Mounted razor blades
Plastic chopping board and aluminium foil to create a sterile and cleanable dissection surface
Roswell Park Memorial Institute (RPMI) 1640 medium
Selection of forceps (blunt tips recommended)
Suitable containers for disposing of contaminated sharps and pig ung tissue, according to your institution's health & safety policies.