The mandatory CAM testing of cells and scaffolds for tissue engineering: benefits for the three Rs of cooperation with the vaccine industry

Altern Lab Anim. 2004 Dec;32(6):573-80. doi: 10.1177/026119290403200608.

Abstract

In cooperation with BAXTER Vaccine AG, which supplies incubated special pathogen-free chicken eggs (including a full veterinary record), a permanent hen's egg chorio-allantoic membrane test (HET-CAM) unit has been established, where angiogenesis testing, cell culture, and digital and histological analyses are performed. At the Core Unit for Biomedical Research, the location of the animal testing facility of the Medical University Vienna, cell-scaffold constructs must be evaluated in vitro and in ovo prior to eventual in vivo tissue engineering experiments. The animal testing advisory committee requires that new test proposals are first evaluated by using cell culture and HET-CAM models. Approvals for in vivo experiments are postponed and not issued prior to in vitro/in ovo evaluation. Examples are presented of protocols planned for in vivo studies on cell seeded scaffolds, which were refined after in vitro/in ovo evaluations.

MeSH terms

  • Animal Testing Alternatives / methods*
  • Animals
  • Cell Culture Techniques
  • Chick Embryo
  • Chickens
  • Chorioallantoic Membrane / blood supply
  • Chorioallantoic Membrane / physiology*
  • Materials Testing / methods*
  • Mice
  • Specific Pathogen-Free Organisms
  • Tissue Engineering / methods*
  • Vaccines

Substances

  • Vaccines