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WAT-on-a-chip: a physiologically relevant microfluidic system incorporating white adipose tissue
Peter Loskill1, Thiagarajan Sezhian, Kevin M Tharp
1Department of Bioengineering and California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences (QB3), University of California at Berkeley, 370 Hearst Memorial Mining Bldg., #1760, Berkeley, California 94720, USA. kehealy@berkeley.edu.
Lab on a Chip
|April 19, 2017
Summary
A novel white adipose tissue (WAT) on-a-chip system mimics in vivo conditions for drug screening. This microfluidic device enables long-term culture of functional adipose tissue, aiding disease modeling for obesity and diabetes.
Area of Science:
- Biotechnology
- Microfluidics
- Tissue Engineering
Background:
- Organ-on-a-chip systems are valuable for drug screening and disease modeling.
- White adipose tissue (WAT) is crucial in drug interactions but often overlooked in chip systems.
- WAT-on-a-chip systems are needed for drug safety profiling due to WAT's signaling and metabolic roles.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a functional WAT-on-a-chip system for drug screening and disease modeling.
- To create a microfluidic platform that accurately mimics physiological conditions for adipose tissue.
- To investigate the potential of WAT-on-a-chip in studying metabolic diseases like obesity and type 2 diabetes.
Main Methods:
- Engineered a microfluidic WAT-on-a-chip device (<1 mm²) with separate media and WAT chambers connected by micropores.
- Utilized optimized injection parameters for culturing pre-adipocytes into functional adipose tissue.
- Employed numerical and analytical modeling to analyze fluid dynamics and shear stress within the chip.
- Maintained long-term culture of functional adipose tissue for over two weeks.
Main Results:
- The WAT-on-a-chip system successfully cultured functional adipose tissue with complete lipid metabolism.
- The microfluidic design protected the tissue from high shear stress, mimicking in vivo vasculature.
- Flow rates in WAT chambers were significantly reduced (<1/100 of input flow rate), ensuring tissue viability.
- The system supported long-term culture (>2 weeks) of physiologically relevant adipose tissue.
Conclusions:
- The developed WAT-on-a-chip system provides a physiologically relevant and controlled microenvironment for adipose tissue.
- This platform is a promising tool for drug screening, safety profiling, and modeling WAT-associated diseases.
- The system's predictable nature makes it valuable for advancing research in obesity and type 2 diabetes.