Oropharyngeal Administration of Bleomycin in the Murine Model of Pulmonary Fibrosis

Interstitial lung disease (ILD) represents a broad spectrum of disorders characterized by the progressive and often irreversible scarring of the lung parenchyma, the most common being idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). Several animal models of IPF have been developed, with the bleomycin murine model being the most widely used. Bleomycin is a chemotherapeutic known to induce DNA damage in the alveolar epithelium, resulting in acute lung injury and pulmonary fibrosis in humans. Rodent models of IPF use bleomycin administration via various methods, the most common being intratracheal (IT). Recently, the oropharyngeal aspiration (OA) technique has been shown to be equally efficacious as IT for multiple fibrosing agents, with considerably fewer side effects and an easier route of delivery. This protocol details the OA method of bleomycin delivery into the murine lung and highlights examples of potential downstream applications for data quantification. This methodology offers a simple, quick, and safe way to utilize this widely used animal model for studying the molecular mechanisms underlying IPF.