Introduction
Of all the technological breakthroughs that have propelled the animal-free testing movement forward, few are as visually striking and scientifically profound as the development of organ-on-a-chip (OOC) technology. These tiny, translucent devices, no bigger than a USB stick, contain living human cells that are arranged in a way that mimics the structure and function of human organs. They are, in essence, miniaturized, living models of human biology, and they are revolutionizing our ability to study health and disease, test the safety and efficacy of new drugs, and ultimately, replace the need for animal testing. In this installment of our series, we explore the fascinating world of organ-on-a-chip technology, from its scientific principles to the companies that are bringing this futuristic technology to life.
What is an Organ-on-a-Chip?
An organ-on-a-chip is a microfluidic device that is lined with living human cells. These cells are cultured in a way that recreates the three-dimensional architecture and physiological environment of a specific human organ, such as the lung, liver, heart, or intestine. The “chip” contains a network of microchannels, through which a nutrient-rich fluid is continuously perfused, mimicking the flow of blood through the body. This dynamic environment is crucial for maintaining the health and function of the cells and for allowing them to behave in a way that is more representative of their behavior in a living organism.
The real power of OOC technology lies in its ability to recreate the complex interplay between different cell types and to simulate the mechanical forces that are present in the body. For example, a lung-on-a-chip can be designed to stretch and relax, mimicking the process of breathing. A gut-on-a-chip can be populated with the same microbes that are found in the human intestine. This level of biological fidelity is simply not possible with traditional 2D cell culture methods.
The Companies Leading the Revolution
The development of OOC technology has been driven by a vibrant ecosystem of innovative companies, many of them spin-offs from leading academic research institutions. These companies are not just developing the technology; they are also working to commercialize it, to make it accessible to researchers in academia and industry, and to gain regulatory acceptance for its use in safety testing.
- TissUse: This German company has pioneered the development of multi-organ-chip technology, which allows for the integration of up to ten miniaturized human organs on a single platform. This technology is particularly powerful for studying the systemic effects of drugs and for understanding how different organs interact with each other.
- Emulate: A spin-off from the Wyss Institute at Harvard University, Emulate has developed a range of organ-chips that are being used by pharmaceutical companies to improve the accuracy and efficiency of their drug development pipelines.
- The Wyss Institute: While not a company in the traditional sense, the Wyss Institute has been a major force in the development of OOC technology. Its collaborations with companies like AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson have been instrumental in demonstrating the real-world value of this technology.
- Roche: This pharmaceutical giant has been an early adopter of OOC technology, using it to screen drug candidates for efficacy and toxicity at a very early stage of the development process.
The Impact on Drug Development
The pharmaceutical industry has been one of the earliest and most enthusiastic adopters of OOC technology. The high cost and low success rate of drug development have created a powerful incentive for the industry to find better, more predictive models of human response. OOC technology offers a number of significant advantages in this regard:
- Improved Accuracy: By using human cells and by recreating the physiological environment of the human body, OOC technology can provide a more accurate prediction of how a drug will behave in humans.
- Faster and Cheaper: OOC technology can be used to screen large numbers of drug candidates in a fraction of the time and at a fraction of the cost of animal testing.
- Reduced Animal Use: By providing a more human-relevant alternative to animal testing, OOC technology has the potential to significantly reduce the number of animals used in drug development.
The Future of Organ-on-a-Chip
Organ-on-a-chip technology is still in its relatively early stages of development, but its potential is immense. As the technology continues to mature, we can expect to see the development of even more sophisticated and complex models, including multi-organ systems that can be used to study the interactions between different organs and to model complex diseases.
As we will explore in the next installment of our series, OOC technology is just one of a number of powerful new tools that are transforming the field of toxicology. When combined with other technologies, such as in silico modeling and artificial intelligence, it has the potential to create a new paradigm of safety testing that is faster, cheaper, more accurate, and entirely free of animals.
References
- Wyss Institute. (n.d.). Human Organs-on-Chips. Retrieved from https://wyss.harvard.edu/technology/human-organs-on-chips/
- Vulto, P., & Joore, J. (2021). Adoption of organ-on-chip platforms by the pharmaceutical industry. Nature Reviews Drug Discovery, 20(12), 893-894. Retrieved from https://www.nature.com/articles/s41573-021-00323-0