What Can an Organ-on-a-Chip Teach Us About Human Lung Pathophysiology?

Abstract

The intertwined relationship between structure and function has been key to understanding human organ physiology and disease pathogenesis. An organ-on-a-chip (organ chip) is a bioengineered microfluidic cell culture device lined by living cells and tissues that recapitulates organ-level functions in vitro. This is accomplished by recreating organ-specific tissue-tissue interfaces and microenvironmental biochemical and mechanical cues while providing dynamic perfusion through endothelium-lined vascular channels. In this review, we discuss how this emerging technology has contributed to the understanding of human lung structure-function relationships at the cell, tissue, and organ levels.

Document Details

Document Type
Pub Defense Publication
Publication Date
Sep 01, 2022
Source ID
10.1152/physiol.00012.2022

Entities

People

  • Donald E. Ingber
  • Haiqing Bai

Organizations

  • Harvard Medical School
  • Harvard University
  • National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

Tags

Fields of Study

  • Biology
  • Medicine

Readers

  • Molecular Genetics
  • Systems Analysis and Design
  • Trauma Surgery or Emergency Medicine.

Technology Areas

  • Biotechnology