News
A perfusable, vascularized kidney organoid-on-chip model (Jennifer Lewis, Harvard)
Jul 11, 2024
Jennifer Lewis (Harvard) of the Engineering Functional Kidneys group has just published a paper in the journal, Biofabrication, on the development of vascularized kidney tissue models via bioprinting.
A perfusable, vascularized kidney organoid-on-chip model
Authors: Kroll, Katharina T; Homan, Kimberly A; Uzel, Sebastien G M; Mata, Mariana M; Wolf, Kayla J; Rubins, Jonathan E; Lewis, Jennifer A
Journal: Biofabrication
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1088/1758-5090/ad5ac0
Summary:
The ability to controllably perfuse kidney organoids would better recapitulate the native tissue microenvironment for applications ranging from drug testing to therapeutic use. Here, we report a perfusable, vascularized kidney organoid on chip model composed of two individually addressable channels embedded in an extracellular matrix (ECM). The channels are respectively seeded with kidney organoids and human umbilical vein endothelial cells that form a confluent endothelium (macrovessel). During perfusion, endogenous endothelial cells present within the kidney organoids migrate through the ECM towards the macrovessel, where they form lumen-on-lumen anastomoses that are supported by stromal-like cells. Once micro-macrovessel integration is achieved, we introduced fluorescently labeled dextran of varying molecular weight and red blood cells into the macrovessel, which are transported through the microvascular network to the glomerular epithelia within the kidney organoids. Our approach for achieving controlled organoid perfusion opens new avenues for generating other perfused human tissues.
