The researchers have demonstrated the complete vascularization of organoids on a microfluidic chip at speeds and flow rates similar to blood’s, improving functional maturation and enabling their long-term survival.
Organoids, which are a 3D assembly of self-organizing cells capable of partially mimicking different physiological characteristics of an organ or tissue, are proving to be highly useful for evaluating the therapeutic efficacy of drugs or new molecules. But they must be vascularized to promote the exchange and transport of nutrients and oxygen, otherwise their maturation and growth are impaired. In vivo, this vascularization is ensured by blood flow.
By vascularizing organoids in vitro and maintaining them in culture for 30 days in a microfluidic chip, researchers observed significant improvement in their growth, maturation and physiological functions, virtually equivalent to those observed after xenotransplantation in mice. This significant technological advance in organoid R&D also enables production scaling.
The breakthrough was reported in the journal Nature Communications.
“The development of vascular networks in microfluidic chips is crucial for the long-term culture of three-dimensional cell aggregates such as spheroids, organoids, tumoroids, or tissue explants,” the paper explains. “Despite rapid advancement in microvascular network systems and organoid technologies, vascularizing organoids-on-chips remains a challenge in tissue engineering. Most existing microfluidic devices poorly reflect the complexity of in vivo flows and require complex technical set-ups.”
The team’s innovative idea was first to develop a self-organizing vascular network within the chip and then trap an organoid containing its own endothelial cells within it. Both networks are self-connected and they enabled the organoid to be perfused in vitro, mimicking the blood system.
“This work opens new avenues to understand biological mechanisms in much more relevant models of human origin, as well as for drug discovery and drug development of novel biological therapies,” said the project supervisor. “Organoids have now entered the field of personalized medicine, regenerative medicine and pharmacological research.”
“We have demonstrated a never-reported, improved functional maturation of the vascularized organoid-on-chip by using a reliable microfluidic chip made of thermoplastics, which are well-known in the plastic industries and compatible with production scaling in the near future,” said a co-author of the paper.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-45710-4
http://sciencemission.com/site/index.php?page=news&type=view&id=publications%2Fa-microfluidic-platform_3&filter=22
Complete vascularization of organoids on microfluidic chip
- 701 views
- Added
Latest News
Therapeutic avenues in bone…
By newseditor
Posted 23 May
Linking key nutrients with…
By newseditor
Posted 23 May
Ferroptosis in fatal COVID-…
By newseditor
Posted 22 May
Grid cell-like representati…
By newseditor
Posted 22 May
Cellular mechanisms underly…
By newseditor
Posted 22 May
Other Top Stories
A key protein linked to ageing identified
Read more
Vasomotion is critical in clearing amyloid from the brain
Read more
Using health records and not genetic data to calculate genetic link…
Read more
Tau and amyloid team up to damage synapses!
Read more
Neurons regulating early alcohol consumption identified!
Read more
Protocols
Efficient expansion and CRI…
By newseditor
Posted 21 May
Massively parallel in vivo…
By newseditor
Posted 20 May
Breast cancer-on-chip for p…
By newseditor
Posted 16 May
Methods for making and obse…
By newseditor
Posted 15 May
Mime-seq 2.0: a method to s…
By newseditor
Posted 13 May
Publications
Therapeutic avenues in bone…
By newseditor
Posted 23 May
Investigating nutrient biom…
By newseditor
Posted 23 May
Fatal COVID-19 pulmonary di…
By newseditor
Posted 22 May
GABA co-released from stria…
By newseditor
Posted 22 May
The IL-33/ST2 axis is prote…
By newseditor
Posted 22 May
Presentations
Hydrogels in Drug Delivery
By newseditor
Posted 12 Apr
Lipids
By newseditor
Posted 31 Dec
Cell biology of carbohydrat…
By newseditor
Posted 29 Nov
RNA interference (RNAi)
By newseditor
Posted 23 Oct
RNA structure and functions
By newseditor
Posted 19 Oct
Posters
A chemical biology/modular…
By newseditor
Posted 22 Aug
Single-molecule covalent ma…
By newseditor
Posted 04 Jul
ASCO-2020-HEALTH SERVICES R…
By newseditor
Posted 23 Mar
ASCO-2020-HEAD AND NECK CANCER
By newseditor
Posted 23 Mar
ASCO-2020-GENITOURINARY CAN…
By newseditor
Posted 23 Mar