Review
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Jingyu Fu, Hailong Qiu, Cherie S. Tan
Summary: Drug discovery is a costly and complex process, and efficient methods are needed to screen potential compounds and remove toxic substances. The liver plays a crucial role in determining drug efficacy and potential side effects. The liver-on-a-chip platform based on microfluidic technology has gained attention for its ability to predict drug metabolism and hepatotoxicity, as well as study pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics when combined with other organ-on-chip systems.
Article
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Zhongyu Li, Jiwen Li, Mei Sun, Lei Men, Enhua Wang, Yiran Zhao, Keke Li, Xiaojie Gong
Summary: In vivo, drug metabolism plays a crucial role in altering drug composition and determining the pharmacological properties of oral drugs. However, existing in vitro models lack the ability to replicate the complexity of drug metabolism, resulting in poor predictive power. The development of organs-on-chip-based microfluidics system offers a new in vitro drug screening platform that can mimic the metabolic process and pharmacological activity of natural products. This study utilized an improved microfluidic device to establish an in vitro co-culture model, which successfully examined the metabolism of ginsenosides and their effectiveness against tumors. The results demonstrated the validity and controllability of this model, highlighting the essential role of hepatic metabolism in determining ginsenosides efficacy.
FRONTIERS IN PHARMACOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Biomedical
Erika Ferrari, Giovanni Stefano Ugolini, Claudia Piutti, Simona Marzorati, Marco Rasponi
Summary: The study introduces a microfluidic technique for micropatterning protein domains and cell cultures within permanently bonded organs-on-chip devices, allowing for the creation of multi-organ in vitro models for drug screening.
BIOMEDICAL MATERIALS
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Perizat Kanabekova, Adina Kadyrova, Gulsim Kulsharova
Summary: Mortality from liver disease is high and prompt measures are crucial. Microfluidic organs-on-chip platforms offer potential for studying the pathophysiology of liver diseases in vitro and evaluating drug efficacy. This review provides a comprehensive overview of liver disease modeling using microphysiological platforms, including cell signaling pathways, cell culture techniques, disease types, and design challenges with existing solutions.
Review
Chemistry, Analytical
Zening Li, Jianan Hui, Panhui Yang, Hongju Mao
Summary: An organ-on-a-chip is a device that combines micro-manufacturing and tissue engineering to replicate the critical physiological environment and functions of human organs. It has the potential to predict drug responses and environmental effects on organs. Microfluidic technology has been widely applied in organ-on-chip systems to mimic specific organs or multiple organs, enabling the simulation of the human environment.
Review
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Hanieh Gholizadeh, Shaokoon Cheng, Agisilaos Kourmatzis, Hanwen Xing, Daniela Traini, Paul M. Young, Hui Xin Ong
Summary: This article discusses the application of in vitro human organ models in preclinical drug testing. Conventional in vitro tissue models and animal models have failed to accurately predict the clinical success of new therapies. Organ-on-chip technology provides realistic tissue models that mimic the physiological characteristics of human organs and has been successfully applied in drug testing.
BIOENGINEERING-BASEL
(2022)
Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Xueping Lu, Liang Zhao, Xiayan Wang, Guangsheng Guo
Summary: As the largest internal organ in the human body, the liver plays a crucial role in metabolism. Understanding the physiological, biochemical, and pathological mechanisms of the liver is essential for the research and treatment of liver-related or metabolism-related diseases. The traditional two-dimensional in vitro cell culture model lacks the complexity and disease characteristics of the liver. Microfluidic technology, by designing appropriate microstructures and combining with three-dimensional liver tissue culture, can provide a more realistic microenvironment for studying liver-related biological mechanisms.
PROGRESS IN CHEMISTRY
(2023)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Adelina-Gabriela Niculescu, Cristina Chircov, Alexandra Catalina Birca, Alexandru Mihai Grumezescu
Summary: Microfluidics is an emerging field that combines principles from various disciplines to fabricate miniaturized chips with channels and chambers. These chips, made using diverse methods, can be utilized in nanoparticle preparation, cell analysis, and diagnosis, among other biomedical applications.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2021)
Review
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Renata Maia, Violeta Carvalho, Rui Lima, Graca Minas, Raquel O. Rodrigues
Summary: This systematic review summarizes the recent progress in the use of microneedles (MNs) in biomedical applications, including drug delivery, biomarker detection, and their potential integration with microfluidic devices. Although MNs have been extensively utilized in lab-on-a-chip platforms, recent studies have also explored their applicability in organ-on-a-chip models. Overall, the presence of MNs in advanced microfluidic devices offers simplified drug delivery, microinjection, and biomarker detection through integrated biosensors, enabling real-time monitoring of various biomarkers in lab- and organ-on-a-chip platforms.
Review
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Daniel Vera, Maria Garcia-Diaz, Nuria Torras, Mar Alvarez, Rosa Villa, Elena Martinez
Summary: Researchers have integrated hydrogels into microfluidic setups to develop tissue barrier-on-chips that accurately account for different cellular and acellular compartments, including the cellular components and functionality of in vivo tissues. These platforms have the potential to greatly improve the predictive capacities of in vitro systems in applications such as drug development or disease modeling, but face challenges in microfabrication.
ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES
(2021)
Review
Chemistry, Analytical
Dimple Palanilkunnathil Thomas, Jun Zhang, Nam-Trung Nguyen, Hang Thu Ta
Summary: This review covers the physiology of the human gut and the engineering approaches of gut-on-a-chip (GOC) models, including materials and fabrication, cell types, stimuli, and gut microbiota. The applications, challenges, possible solutions, and prospects for GOC models and technology are thoroughly discussed.
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Rong-Rong Xiao, Tian Lv, Xia Tu, Peiwen Li, Tiantian Wang, Haiheng Dong, Pengfei Tu, Xiaoni Ai
Summary: The study developed an integrated biomimetic array chip for establishing ECM-based models, especially a collagen-based 3D PHH model. This model demonstrated high sensitivity in predicting liver injury and was found to outperform all previously reported in vitro models in large-scale liver toxicity screening.
BIOTECHNOLOGY AND BIOENGINEERING
(2021)
Review
Engineering, Biomedical
Rick Xing Ze Lu, Milica Radisic
Summary: Nanoparticles have raised concerns due to potential adverse health effects, necessitating the development of physiologically relevant models for toxicity assessment. Organ-on-a-chip models offer a new avenue for nanotoxicological research by recapitulating in vivo microenvironment and responses.
BIOACTIVE MATERIALS
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Biomedical
Beatrice Gabbin, Viviana Meraviglia, Maricke L. Angenent, Dorien Ward-van Oostwaard, Wendy Sol, Christine L. Mummery, Ton J. Rabelink, Berend J. van Meer, Cathelijne W. van den Berg, Milena Bellin
Summary: The heart and kidney communicate with each other and their pathological changes can damage each other. Researchers have developed a microfluidic system to study the interaction between the heart and kidney in vitro. This system, using cardiac microtissues and kidney organoids, allows for control of fluid flow speed and direction, providing a new in vitro model for studying the cardiorenal axis.
MATERIALS TODAY BIO
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Amin Mansoorifar, Ryan Gordon, Raymond C. Bergan, Luiz E. Bertassoni
Summary: Bone is a dynamic organ capable of adapting to changes in the body and repairing damaged tissue, but diseases like osteoporosis and metastatic cancers can compromise its function. Microfluidic technologies and organ-on-a-chip models provide more realistic tissue culture conditions, allowing for a better understanding of bone biology, diseases, and treatments. These advanced models offer potential for improved research in bone-related fields.
ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Mohamed I. Abdelwahab Hassan, Monique Keller, Michael Hillger, Ulrike Binder, Stefanie Reuter, Kristina Herold, Anusha Telagathoti, Hans-Martin Dahse, Saiedeh Wicht, Nora Trinks, Sandor Nietzsche, Tanja Deckert-Gaudig, Volker Deckert, Ralf Mrowka, Ulrich Terpitz, Hans Peter Saluz, Kerstin Voigt
Summary: This study investigated the impact of physical and enzymatic modification of spore wall on phagocytosis and virulence of Lichtheimia corymbifera, shedding light on the pathogenicity mechanisms of fungal infections. The findings provide important insights for understanding the pathogenesis of mucormycosis.
COMPUTATIONAL AND STRUCTURAL BIOTECHNOLOGY JOURNAL
(2021)
Article
Cell & Tissue Engineering
Ying Chen, Kunie Sakurai, Sumihiro Maeda, Tohru Masui, Hideyuki Okano, Johannes Dewender, Stefanie Seltmann, Andreas Kurtz, Hiroshi Masuya, Yukio Nakamura, Michael Sheldon, Juliane Schneider, Glyn N. Stacey, Yulia Panina, Wataru Fujibuchi
Summary: ICSCB is an integrated database search portal for stem cell line information, based on standardized data items and terms of the MIACARM framework. It can retrieve over 16,000 cell lines from four major data resources in Europe, Japan, and the United States, and is automatically updated to provide the latest cell line information.
Article
Oncology
Danhui Ma, Sinuo Chen, Heming Wang, Jiayi Wei, Hao Wu, Hong Gao, Xinlai Cheng, Taotao Liu, Shi-Hua Luo, Yicheng Zhao, Guangqi Song
Summary: Pancreatic cancer is a common but deadly malignant tumor, and baicalein can effectively inhibit its progression by modulating the expression of miR-139-3p or miR-196b-5p.
FRONTIERS IN ONCOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Dermatology
Xiaoxiao Hou, Amir M. Hossini, Georgios Nikolakis, Ottfried Balthasar, Andreas Kurtz, Christos C. Zouboulis
Summary: This study developed a human model of hidradenitis suppurativa/acne inversa (HS) applicable for preclinical research to understand the pathophysiology of the disease and determine the action of therapeutic candidates. The application of 3D-SeboSkin technology maintained the structural integrity of lesional and perilesional HS skin ex vivo, preserving the differential expression and pattern of several HS biomarkers. The HS 3D-SeboSkin model was validated as a reproducible, human model suitable for preclinical studies of HS skin lesions and perilesional areas.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Martin Guhmann, Stefanie Reuter, Jan Hartung, Ralf Mrowka
Summary: Preselection digests are a common strategy to reduce background in molecular cloning, but manually selecting appropriate restriction enzymes is not straightforward. The online tool preselector.uni-jena.de uses regular expressions to identify restriction enzyme recognition sites in DNA sequences provided by users, helping researchers design preselection digestion strategies efficiently.
NUCLEIC ACIDS RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Cell & Tissue Engineering
Janine Cernoch, Tanja Fisch, Iris Fischer, Kristin Fischer, Anna Iwanska, Norman Krueger, Judit Kuechler, Claudia Schaar, Sandra Schommer, Narasimha Telugu, Duncan Miller, Valeria Fernandez Vallone, Andreas Kurtz, Petra Reinke, Sebastian Diecke, Harald Stachelscheid
Summary: Researchers generated 20 iPSC lines from FSGS patients, covering a wide range of gender and age. These cell lines were fully characterized and quality controlled, serving as valuable tools for disease modeling and drug development for FSGS.
STEM CELL RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Sara Tombelli, Cosimo Trono, Simone Berneschi, Chiara Berrettoni, Ambra Giannetti, Romeo Bernini, Gianluca Persichetti, Genni Testa, Guillermo Orellana, Francesca Salis, Susanne Weber, Peter B. Luppa, Giampiero Porro, Giovanna Quarto, Markus Schubert, Marcel Berner, Paulo P. Freitas, Susana Cardoso, Fernando Franco, Vania Silverio, Maria Lopez-Martinez, Urs Hilbig, Kathrin Freudenberger, Gunter Gauglitz, Holger Becker, Claudia Gartner, Mark T. O'Connell, Francesco Baldini
Summary: This paper describes a compact point of care optical device for therapeutic drug monitoring, utilizing immunoassays in disposable plastic chips to detect multiple analytes simultaneously with high efficiency. The device is equipped with a microfluidic system and thin film amorphous silicon photodiodes for fluorescence detection, improving the speed and sensitivity of the assay.
ANALYTICAL AND BIOANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
(2022)
Article
Cell Biology
Thao Thi Thanh Ngo, Bella Rossbach, Isabelle Sebastien, Julia C. Neubauer, Andreas Kurtz, Krithika Hariharan
Summary: This study provides a standardized protocol for the large-scale production of proximal tubular epithelial cells (PTEC) generated from human pluripotent stem cells (hPSC). The researchers successfully expanded and differentiated hPSC into PTEC using a bioLevitator platform and matrix-coated alginate beads. The functional PTEC exhibited microvilli and clear apico-basal localization of markers, and showed active reabsorption and response to drug treatment. This method may have the potential for automatable production of functional human PTEC.
CELL PROLIFERATION
(2022)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Jonas Becker, Megan Lynn Stanifer, Sarah Rebecca Leist, Bettina Stolp, Olena Maiakovska, Ande West, Ellen Wiedtke, Kathleen Boerner, Ali Ghanem, Ina Ambiel, Longping Victor Tse, Oliver Till Fackler, Ralph Steven Baric, Steeve Boulant, Dirk Grimm
Summary: Multiple experiments have shown that AAV vectors co-expressing three short hairpin RNAs targeting the SARS-CoV-2 genes can effectively suppress virus infection and prevent viral escape mutations, holding great potential as a preventive or therapeutic antiviral measure for controlling the COVID-19 pandemic.
Review
Cell Biology
Andreas Kurtz, Nancy Mah, Ying Chen, Antonie Fuhr, Sabine Kobold, Stefanie Seltmann, Sabine C. Mueller
Summary: This review provides an overview of the establishment and mission of the human pluripotent stem cell registry (hPSCreg), as well as its development into a knowledgebase for hPSC and the current status of hPSC-focused databases. It also discusses the challenges and hurdles of data sharing on a global level.
CELL PROLIFERATION
(2022)
Article
Cell & Tissue Engineering
Justyna Rasinska, Charlotte Klein, Laura Stahn, Felix Maidhof, Anna Pfeffer, Stefanie Schreyer, Manfred Gossen, Andreas Kurtz, Barbara Steiner, Shabnam Hemmati-Sadeghi
Summary: This study achieved continuous overexpression of GDNF in immune-privileged human adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stromal cells using a non-viral Sleeping Beauty transposon. Although GDNF was detectable shortly after cell transplantation, the 6-OHDA model used was too mild to evaluate disease improvement. Further research using a more appropriate 6-OHDA model is needed to test the therapeutic potential of GDNF-overexpressing cells.
JOURNAL OF TISSUE ENGINEERING AND REGENERATIVE MEDICINE
(2022)
Article
Cell Biology
Bella Rossbach, Krithika Hariharan, Nancy Mah, Su-Jun Oh, Hans-Dieter Volk, Petra Reinke, Andreas Kurtz
Summary: This study investigates the immunological effects of hiPSC-derived cells and finds that their immune response varies depending on the stage of cell maturation. Autologous and allogeneic T cells tolerate early renal progenitors and mature renal epithelial cells, while NK cell responses are not suppressed and can effectively change NK cell activation status. These findings have important implications for the success of cell therapies.
Editorial Material
Physiology
Stefanie Reuter
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Rodrigo A. Gama-Brambila, Jie Chen, Jun Zhou, Georg Tascher, Christian Munich, Xinlai Cheng
Summary: PROTACs are a new technology for degrading target proteins, but limited by lack of chemical binders. By utilizing a compound O4I2 in combination with thalidomide, SF3B1 protein can be selectively degraded, inducing apoptosis and improving survival in a Drosophila intestinal tumor model.
CELL CHEMICAL BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Rodrigo A. Gama-Brambila, Jie Chen, Yasamin Dabiri, Georg Tascher, Vaclav Nemec, Christian Muench, Guangqi Song, Stefan Knapp, Xinlai Cheng
Summary: The discovery of clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats and their associated proteins has led to the development of new methods to control Cas proteins, including fusion proteins and PROTACs. Engineering Cas proteins with a pi-clamp system allows for labeling and degradation in live cells, showing a wide range of potential applications in regulating stability and activity of FCPF-tagging proteins through perfluoroaromatics-induced proximity.