Cambridge, MA (PRWEB) June 28, 2012
Researchers designed a microdevice that will better simulate a biologically realistic growth environment for human kidney cells in the laboratory. The proof-of-concept for a "kidney
Cambridge, MA (PRWEB) June 28, 2012
Researchers designed a microdevice that will better simulate a biologically realistic growth environment for human kidney cells in the laboratory. The proof-of-concept for a "kidney-on-a-chip" could one day give scientists a more accurate platform for drug screening or disease modeling.
The microscale tissue modeling device, developed by scientists from Draper Laboratory and Boston University, is the first biomimetic platform to take into account both physical and fluid-flow effects on kidney cells and is a step toward one day replicating kidney organ function in the lab. Their work was published in 2012 in the journal Integrative Biology.
The kidneys are a pair of fist-sized organs that filter blood and are crucial to maintaining fluid balance, regulating blood pressure, and eliminating toxins. Disorders of the kidney can lead to high blood pressure and heart failure, and diabetics are particularly at risk - the World Heath Organization estimates that 10-20% of diabetes-related deaths are due to kidney failure.
The primary structural unit of the kidney, called a nephron, is a highly organized tubule under constant exposure to fluid-flow stress from the blood and fluids it filters. In addition, nephron cells receive cues from the extracellular matrix, a network of structural and signalling proteins. In the laboratory, kidney cells are typically grown on flat plastic or glass surfaces in a static nutrient broth, an unrealistic growth environment which can potentially affect cell function and physiology.
To create a more accurate environment, Else Frohlich, Draper Fellow and Boston University graduate student, and her advisors fabricated a plastic and silicone rubber microdevice comprised of a textured growth surface and a microfluidic chamber. The growth surface, lined with a series of submicron ridges and grooves coated with collagen, mimics topographical and protein cues from the extracellular matrix. On this surface, they grew a layer of cells from a segment of the nephron known as the renal proximal tubule, and provided fluid-flow stress cues with a microfluidic pump.
They found that the combination of topography and fluid-flow enhanced tissue structure formation, and in particular increased the intensity of tight junction formation between the cells, which better resembles kidney cells in the body. These tight junctions act as a seal for filtration and on flat control surfaces, were less well formed.
Frohlich received the President’s Award, the top prize at Boston University’s Science and Engineering Research Symposium, for her work on the project, which contributed to her master’s thesis.
“We’re pushing the cells toward more realistic behav