Modular, multi-tissue system for in vitro modeling of systemic disease

This technology is a modular platform with engineered tissues linked by vascular perfusion that can be used to study tumor progression and systemic disease in a clinically relevant setting.

Unmet Need: “Human-on-a-chip” system that allows for multi-tissue study

Animal models have long been seen as the gold standard for testing drug efficacy and studying disease progression; however, these models are not only costly and time-intensive, but also insufficient at modeling human-specific diseases. As research moves towards ‘organ-on-a-chip’ models for pre-clinical testing, the individual human tissues engineered from primary or stem cells are increasingly successful in recapitulating organ level functions. However, there is an unmet need for an interconnected platform that maintains individual tissue structure and function while allowing for interactions and crosstalk between tissues through the vascular flow containing circulating cells and molecular factors.

The Technology: Modular multi-tissue platform for improved disease modeling

This system allows each of the multiple human tissues representing different organs to be cultured in their own optimized environment that is separated from vascular flow by a selectively permeable endothelial barrier. The vascular perfusion linking the tissues mimics blood flow in the human circulatory system. This platform has been used to study systemic diseases, multi-organ toxicity, and potential drug effects. It can preserve tissues for weeks to months, allowing for studies of chronic effects in patient-specific settings.

Applications:

• Research tool for modeling cancer metastasis
• Research tool for analysis of modeling of injury, genetic and acquired diseases
• Clinically relevant modeling of human pathophysiology
• Modeling of individual and multiple organ conditions
• Patient-specific modeling for personalized medicine
• Drug screening
• Safety testing

Advantages:

• Studies of human tissues and organs
• Multiple tissues of interest for a specific study can be connected into a single platform
• Modular system allows for customizable configurations of tissues and organoids
• Patient specificity
• Cost-effective compared to animal models
• Recapitulates physiologically-relevant cellular cross talk between organs
• Can sustain long-term culture (>4 weeks)

Lead Inventor:

Gordana Vunjak-Novakovic, Ph.D.

Patent Information:

Patent Pending (WO/2021/237195)

Related Publications:

• Ronaldson-Bouchard K, Teles D, Yeager K, et al. “A multi-organ chip with matured tissue niches linked by vascular flow” Nat Biomed Eng. 2022; 6(4): 351-371.

• Chramiec A, Teles D, Yeager K, et al. “Integrated human organ-on-a-chip model for predictive studies of anti-tumor drug efficacy and cardiac safety” Lab Chip. 2020; 20(23): 4357-4372.

Tech Ventures Reference:

• IR CU19102, CU20238, CU20366

• Licensing Contact: Beth Kauderer