Precision Cut Lung Slices: Emerging Tools for Preclinical and Translational Lung Research. An Official American Thoracic Society Workshop Report.

Abstract

The urgent need for effective treatments for acute and chronic lung diseases underscores the significance of developing innovative preclinical human research tools. The 2023 ATS Workshop on Precision Cut Lung Slices (PCLS) brought together 35 experts to discuss and address the role of human tissue-derived PCLS as a unique tool for target and drug discovery and validation in pulmonary medicine. With increasing interest and usage, along with advancements in methods and technology, there is a growing need for consensus on PCLS methodology and readouts. The current document recommends standard reporting criteria and emphasizes the requirement for careful collection and integration of clinical metadata. We further discuss current clinically relevant readouts that can be applied to PCLS and highlight recent developments and future steps for implementing novel technologies for PCLS modeling and analysis. The collection and correlation of clinical metadata and multiomic analysis will further advent the integration of this preclinical platform into patient endotyping and the development of tailored therapies for lung disease patients.