ABSTRACT
In vitro models of pleural pathobiology 122 Culturing mesothelial cells 122 Culturing pleural malignant cells123 Ex vivo systems for the study of pleural
pathophysiology 124 Animal models of pleural diseases125
Model setup 125 Specific pleural disease models 126
Conclusions 132 Annex 1 Methods for harvesting primary mesothelial
cells 132 Annex 2 Rabbit chest tube insertion133 Annex 3 Mouse models of adenocarcinoma-induced
malignant pleural effusion 133 References134
Although in vivo studies are the most representative of active pathological events, in vitro studies are convenient and provide valuable information. e study of cultured mesothelial, cancer, vascular, and immune cells in isolation can provide important information on pleural pathophysiologic processes. Periodic revalidation of cell lines using the short tandem repeat method is crucial to ensure the validity of in vitro studies.1
