Emulating human microcapillaries in a multi-organ-chip platform.

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Cell Biology
• Tissue Engineering

Background:

• Microfluidic chip-based tissue culture systems currently lack integrated capillary endothelial vessel networks essential for blood perfusion.
• Complete biological vascularization is crucial for accurately mimicking physiological tissue behavior in organ-on-a-chip platforms.

Purpose of the Study:

• To incorporate a functional capillary endothelial vessel system into a perfused multi-organ-chip platform.
• To investigate the role of adipose-derived stromal cells (ASCs) in guiding endothelial cell organization within a fibrin scaffold.
• To assess the stability and composition of fibrin gels for optimal microvessel formation.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a two-organ-chip microfluidic device populated with spatial cell cultures.
• Incorporated a fibrin scaffold within the chip design.
• Co-cultured ASCs with human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) under static and dynamic conditions.

Main Results:

• ASCs successfully directed HUVECs to organize into tube-like structures, achieving vascularization.
• Cell viability and gene expression profiles remained consistent when switching from enriched medium to basal medium.
• Addressed fibrin gel stability and composition for enhanced microvessel formation.

Conclusions:

• The developed method enables the creation of vascularized organ-on-a-chip systems, enhancing their physiological relevance.
• The system supports cell viability and consistent gene expression, even with altered medium formulations, crucial for diverse organ construct studies.
• Optimized fibrin scaffolds and ASC-HUVEC interactions are key for robust microvessel development in microfluidic devices.