Host: The Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers
Name : [in Japanese]
Date : March 10, 2021 - March 11, 2021
Podocytes, which are responsible for the filtering function in the kidney, were difficult to culture in vitro. Some microfluidic devices that reproduce the filtration flow load were reported, however, problems such as cell detachment happed during podocyte culture. Our research group have developed a glomerular organ-on-a-chip (OoC) integrated with culture insert to mimic filtration flow like the glomerular environment. In this study, we conducted a pressure optimization study and a toxicity test using the glomerular OoC that we proposed. The loading pressure was determined by evaluation results of pressure effects in podocytes on porous membranes. Toxicity tests using the glomerular OoC with filtration flow showed a greater drug effect on podocytes than in the static experiments. As a result, it suggests that the toxicity occurring in in vivo environment cannot be evaluated correctly in the experimental system in static, and the glomerular OoC is useful in the toxicity test. In future work, we will coculture with glomerular endothelial cells to bring them closer to the in vivo environment.
