3D Cell Culture Could Drive The Fight Against Infectious Diseases

Cell cultures of various kinds have always been used at almost every stage of disease research, including disease modeling, drug target identification and validation, potency profiling and toxicity assessment. They allow drug development in human-like models without the need to endanger a real human participant. However, as vital a tool as it has been, traditional 2D cell culture models have always had a number of limitations.

2D culturing methods are not fully representative of real tissues, so they provide a partial, yet incomplete look at real tissue function. 3D cell cultures, on the other hand, are an attempt to actually grow those tissues directly, with more of the complexity and experimental accuracy that implies. A 3D culture better represents the physical and biochemical environment that viruses encounter in vivo. 3D cell culture models allow for faster identification of compounds that could counteract or interfere with disease mechanisms and, through that, faster development of cures for infectious disease.

In the fight against infectious diseases, like coronavirus and potentially similar viruses that resist legacy antiviral medications, doctors and researchers will need better tools than ever before. With modern 3D cell culture models and other specialized technologies in hand, they may now have the tools they need to do it.