Reconstituting Organ-Level Lung Functions on a Chip

Just Breathe Design of artificial systems that mimic in vivo organs could provide a better alternative for understanding mechanisms underlying physiological responses than current cell-based models or animal tests. Huh et al. (p. 1662) have created a tissue-tissue interface of human-cultured epithelial cells and endothelial cells together, with extracellular matrix in a device that models the alveolar-capillary interface of the human lung. The device mimicked physiological organ-level functions, including pathogen-induced inflammatory responses and responses to cytokine exposure. Breathing-type movements affected acute pulmonary cell toxicity and proinflammatory activity of widely used nanoparticulates. Endothelial and epithelial cells grown in a microfluidics apparatus mimic the alveolar-capillary interface of the lung. Here, we describe a biomimetic microsystem that reconstitutes the critical functional alveolar-capillary interface of the human lung. This bioinspired microdevice reproduces complex integrated organ-level responses to bacteria and inflammatory cytokines introduced into the alveolar space. In nanotoxicology studies, this lung mimic revealed that cyclic mechanical strain accentuates toxic and inflammatory responses of the lung to silica nanoparticles. Mechanical strain also enhances epithelial and endothelial uptake of nanoparticulates and stimulates their transport into the underlying microvascular channel. Similar effects of physiological breathing on nanoparticle absorption are observed in whole mouse lung. Mechanically active “organ-on-a-chip” microdevices that reconstitute tissue-tissue interfaces critical to organ function may therefore expand the capabilities of cell culture models and provide low-cost alternatives to animal and clinical studies for drug screening and toxicology applications.