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Heart and kidney organoids maintain organ-specific function in a microfluidic system
Beatrice Gabbin1, Viviana Meraviglia1, Maricke L Angenent1
1Department of Anatomy and Embryology, Leiden University Medical Center, the Netherlands.
Materials Today. Bio
|October 9, 2023
Summary
This study developed a novel microfluidic "cardiorenal-unit" to model heart and kidney crosstalk in vitro. This system allows studying cardiorenal axis interactions and potential disease treatments.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Engineering
- Organ-on-a-chip Technology
- Regenerative Medicine
Background:
- The heart and kidney have an interdependent relationship, where dysfunction in one organ can negatively impact the other.
- Existing in vitro models for heart and kidney lack the capability to replicate their dynamic crosstalk.
- Understanding cardiorenal crosstalk is crucial for developing effective treatments for related diseases.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and validate a novel microfluidic system for studying heart and kidney interaction in vitro.
- To create a functional
- cardiorenal-unit
- model using human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs).
- To investigate the dynamic crosstalk between cardiac microtissues and kidney organoids under controlled fluidic conditions.
Main Methods:
- Generation of cardiac microtissues (cMTs) and kidney organoids (kOs) from hiPSCs.
- Co-culture of cMTs and kOs in a microfluidic perfusion chip with separated communicating chambers.
- Comparison of static culture versus dynamic culture under unidirectional fluid flow.
- Assessment of tissue viability, cardiac function (sarcomeric structures, beating activity), and kidney function (nephron structures, albumin uptake).
Main Results:
- Successful maintenance of tissue viability for cMTs and kOs for at least 72 hours under both static and dynamic conditions.
- Demonstration of functional cardiac activity in cMTs and kidney-specific structures and functions in kOs.
- Establishment of a microfluidic system enabling controlled study of cardiorenal interaction in vitro.
Conclusions:
- The developed microfluidic
- cardiorenal-unit
- effectively models human heart and kidney crosstalk in vitro.
- This novel model provides a platform for studying the cardiorenal axis and evaluating potential therapeutic strategies for cardiorenal diseases.
- The system's ability to control fluidic parameters offers a valuable tool for future cardiorenal research.
