The 10th hDMT theme group has been established and will kick-off soon: Lung-on-Chip.
Coordinators are Anne van der Does (chair, LUMC) and Reinoud Gosens (vice-chair, University of Groningen). Aim of the Lung-on-Chip group is to promote interaction, share knowledge, and provide opportunities for collaboration. Bundling expertise and technology will accelerate the development of tissue-level chip models that include (differentiated) epithelium, vessels, stromal cells and extracellular matrix (ECM). This would allow the development of chip models that emulate more representatively healthy and diseased lung tissues. Ideally the different anatomical regions will be furthermore connected to form a true Lung-on-Chip and Lung-on-Chips should be connected to other co-morbidity-related organs, such as cardiac or skeletal muscle.
Challenges
To achieve tissue level representation in the chips, integrate lung-specific features such as airflow and stretch, and ideally combine chips to represent the different anatomical regions of the lungs, the following challenges need to be resolved:
- For application of lung-relevant mechanobiological cues:
- Application of bi-directional airflow
- Development of stretchable membranes
- Biomimetic culture substrates/porous membranes concerning substrate microtopography and elasticity
- Integrate application of stretch
- Inclusion of lung-specific ECM
- Inclusion of immune cells, e.g. alveolar macrophages in the alveolar models
- Generation of sufficient cell numbers for especially alveolar epithelial cells
- Controlled and optimal differentiation of cell cultures matching the anatomical location of the lung that is represented.
Read more about the Lung-on-Chip group here.
Note: If you, as researcher from an hDMT partner organization, are interested to become a member of the hDMT Lung-on-Chip theme group and actively contribute to the development and implementation of Lung-on-Chip models, please send an email with your request to info@hdmt.technology.
