Biological Influence of Pulmonary Disease Conditions Induced by Particulate Matter on Microfluidic Lung Chips

Particulate matter (PM10)-induced respiratory illnesses are difficult to investigate in trans-well culture systems. Microphysiological systems offer the capacity to mimic these phenomena to analyze any possible hazards that PM10 exposure poses to respiratory system of Humans. This study proposes an on-chip healthy human lung distal airway model that efficiently reconstitutes in vivo-like environmental conditions in a microfluidic device. The lung-on-chip model comprises a TEER sensor chip and portable microscope for continuous monitoring. To determine the efficacy of our model, we assessed the response to exposure to three PM environmental conditions (mild, average, and severe) and analyzed the relevant in vivo physiological and toxicological data using the airway model. Our results revealed significant increases in the levels of the IL-13, IL-6, and MUC5AC pathological biomarkers, which indicate increased incidences of on-chip asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease conditions. Overall, we deduced that this model will facilitate the identification of potential therapeutics and the prevention of chronic life-threatening toxicities and pandemics such as COVID-19. The proposed system provides basic data for producing an improved in organ-on-chip technology.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13206-022-00068-x.