A 3D-Printed Pump-Free Multi-Organ-on-a-Chip Platform for Modeling the Intestine-Liver-Muscle Axis

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Organ-on-a-Chip Technology
• 3D Bioprinting

Background:

• The intestine-liver-muscle axis is crucial for drug and nutrient metabolism and energy balance.
• Existing in vitro models struggle to replicate complex inter-organ communication.
• Limited models exist for studying the integrated function of these three organs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop an accessible, pump-free 3D-printed multi-organ-on-a-chip device.
• To enable dynamic co-culture of intestinal, hepatic, and muscle cells.
• To model the intestine-liver-muscle axis for metabolic cross-talk research.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of a 5-chamber device using fused deposition modeling (FDM) with ABS polymers.
• Dynamic co-culture of Caco-2 intestinal cells, HepG2 hepatocytes, and human skeletal myoblasts (HSkMs) under gravity-driven oscillatory flow.
• Utilized Transwell inserts and hydrogel-embedded spheroids for cell compartmentalization.

Main Results:

• Dynamic co-culture enhanced skeletal muscle characteristics (myosin heavy chain, lactate production).
• Hepatic function improved in HepG2 spheroids (increased albumin expression).
• Intestinal barrier integrity was maintained in Caco-2 cells (stable tight junctions, TEER).

Conclusions:

• The 3D-printed device successfully models the intestine-liver-muscle axis via dynamic co-culture.
• This accessible platform facilitates the study of inter-organ metabolic cross-talk.
• The technology holds promise for drug discovery and disease modeling applications.