The Humane Research Trust is funding a pioneering project at De Montfort University to develop an animal-free model to study bacterial infections such as pneumonia, sepsis, and meningitis. This innovative research will replace animal models with a fully humanised system, providing scientists with a powerful tool to understand bacterial lung infections and test new treatments.
Pneumonia remains one of the world’s deadliest infectious diseases, claiming millions of lives each year. Among its leading culprits is Streptococcus pneumoniae, a bacterium responsible for a multitude of bacterial illnesses, ranging from ear infections and sinusitis to meningitis and sepsis.
Pneumococcus often resides harmlessly in the upper respiratory tract, but under certain conditions it shifts to an invasive state, causing severe infection. This transition is driven by complex mechanisms, including biofilm formation - a process where bacteria cluster together and produce a protective extracellular matrix.
Despite the availability of vaccines, pneumococcal infections continue to cause hundreds of thousands of deaths annually. They’re particularly deadly in young children, older adults, and those with weakened immune systems. As a result, pneumococcus has earned a place on the World Health Organisation’s priority pathogens list, signalling that new treatment strategies are vital.
The challenge is compounded by rising antibiotic resistance. When infections occur, they are often difficult to manage because the bacteria can adapt rapidly to the airway environment, evade immune defences, and withstand antibiotic therapy. This is because the biofilms shield bacteria from antibiotics and immune responses, making infections harder to treat and promoting this resistance.
Current research relies heavily on animal models such as mice, rabbits, and chinchillas. These studies cause significant suffering and fail to replicate the complexity of human airways.
Even existing laboratory models using human cells are inadequate - they only support short-term colonisation (less than 24 hours) and cannot mimic biofilm formation, which takes days.
Additionally, a lot of these laboratory models use animal products in the cell culture process. These products introduce variability and other issues, limiting the translational value of these studies. To deliver new insights into the human body’s response to pneumococcal infection, we need research models that are 100% relevant to humans.
Without these physiologically relevant systems, researchers cannot pinpoint how pneumococcus adapts to the human airway environment or test strategies to disrupt biofilms. This gap delays new therapies and accelerates the rise of antibiotic resistance.
As Dr Raymond Allan, Senior Lecturer in Microbiology at De Montfort University explains: “There is an unmet need for a biologically representative model that supports long-term pneumococcal colonisation and biofilm formation. Current systems are limited and rely on animal products, which we aim to eliminate.”
The Humane Research Trust is excited to support a new project at Dr Allan's laboratory at De Montfort University, where scientists are fighting back against pneumococcal diseases. The team is developing a novel respiratory epithelial model that supports long-term infection under conditions that mimic the human airway.
Using small airway epithelial cells grown at an air-liquid interface, the model will reproduce key features of the respiratory tract, including mucus production and the formation of cilia (hairlike structures that help cells communicate).
Importantly, the system will be completely animal-free. Foetal bovine serum and horse blood - products that are commonly used in laboratories - will be replaced with humane alternatives such as human AB serum and defined media. Researchers will also use advanced imaging techniques and animal-free reagents to characterise the model.
Once established, the team will introduce pneumococcal strains and monitor infection for up to 14 days, assessing biofilm formation, epithelial health, and bacterial adaptation. They will also perform dual RNA sequencing, a tool which enables them to profile how both the bacteria and the host cells respond over time. Together, these approaches will provide unprecedented insight into the infection process.
“This model will allow us to study pneumococcal pathogenesis in a way that reflects real human biology,” says Dr Allan. “It will also offer a humane, cost-effective alternative to animal testing.”
Dr Raymond Allan
Principal investigator
Principal investigator Dr Raymond Allan is a Senior Lecturer in Microbiology at De Montfort University. His research focuses on the investigation of bacterial biofilms, developing an understanding of the adaptive mechanisms they employ to enable their survival within the human host, and investigating their role in chronic infectious disease.
Divine Derefaka
PhD student
Divine Derefaka is a PhD student with a background in Biomedical Science at De Montfort University. She is a Sustainable Development Goals Fellow with a strong commitment to advancing humane and sustainable research. Her work focuses on developing and promoting efficient research practices and methods that reduce reliance on animal models.
