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08-27-2019, 10:26 PM
Cartilage on a Chip to Identify New Treatments for Osteoarthritis
https://www.medgadget.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/knee-on-a-chip.jpgResearchersfrom the Polytechnic University of Milan and the University Hospital of Baselhave developed a microfluidic chip containing cartilage, which can be subjectedto mechanical stress. The procedure mimics the conditions of osteoarthritis andcould help in developing new treatments.
Osteoarthritisis relatively common among people over 60, with 20% of women and 10% of men sufferingits effects at this age. However, perhaps surprisingly, there are no drugs availablethat can halt or reverse the process, with palliative care or surgeryfrequently being the only options available.
Experimentalmodels that accurately reflect the mechanical and physiological conditions contributingto osteoarthritis are lacking. This may underlie the failure of researchers todevelop drugs that can have a real impact on the condition. At present, mostresearch into osteoarthritis is conducted using cartilage explants, which areinduced to produce an inflammatory response through exposure to pro-inflammatorysubstances.
However,this doesn’t accurately model the mechanical phenomena that occur inosteoarthritis, where mechanical wear on the cartilage in joints leads tolong-term degeneration and inflammation. This new microfluidic chip producesmechanical stress on cartilage cultivated within it to more accurately mimicthe process that occurs in osteoarthritis.
Anactuation layer within the chip allows for compression of the cartilage, andthis leads to inflammation, hypertrophy and degeneration, all of which areobserved in osteoarthritis. The researchers hope to use the chip to screen fornew drugs that can halt or even reverse this process, and which could make asignificant difference for patients with osteoarthritis. Future work will alsoinclude modeling an entire joint on a chip.
See a video about the research below:
Study in Nature BiomedicalEngineering: Hyperphysiologicalcompression of articular cartilage induces an osteoarthritic phenotype in acartilage-on-a-chip model (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41551-019-0406-3)
Via: PolytechnicUniversity of Milan (https://www.polimi.it/en/news-details/article/10/osteoartrosi-un-chip-mima-la-malattia-per-ideare-farmaci-efficaci-6869/)
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Medgadget?d=yIl2AUoC8zA (http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Medgadget?a=wFnVWEz64a0:_mcoIgjxZXo:yIl2AUoC8zA) http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Medgadget?d=qj6IDK7rITs (http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Medgadget?a=wFnVWEz64a0:_mcoIgjxZXo:qj6IDK7rITs) http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Medgadget?i=wFnVWEz64a0:_mcoIgjxZXo:gIN9vFwOqvQ (http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Medgadget?a=wFnVWEz64a0:_mcoIgjxZXo:gIN9vFwOqvQ)
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Medgadget/~4/wFnVWEz64a0
https://www.medgadget.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/knee-on-a-chip.jpgResearchersfrom the Polytechnic University of Milan and the University Hospital of Baselhave developed a microfluidic chip containing cartilage, which can be subjectedto mechanical stress. The procedure mimics the conditions of osteoarthritis andcould help in developing new treatments.
Osteoarthritisis relatively common among people over 60, with 20% of women and 10% of men sufferingits effects at this age. However, perhaps surprisingly, there are no drugs availablethat can halt or reverse the process, with palliative care or surgeryfrequently being the only options available.
Experimentalmodels that accurately reflect the mechanical and physiological conditions contributingto osteoarthritis are lacking. This may underlie the failure of researchers todevelop drugs that can have a real impact on the condition. At present, mostresearch into osteoarthritis is conducted using cartilage explants, which areinduced to produce an inflammatory response through exposure to pro-inflammatorysubstances.
However,this doesn’t accurately model the mechanical phenomena that occur inosteoarthritis, where mechanical wear on the cartilage in joints leads tolong-term degeneration and inflammation. This new microfluidic chip producesmechanical stress on cartilage cultivated within it to more accurately mimicthe process that occurs in osteoarthritis.
Anactuation layer within the chip allows for compression of the cartilage, andthis leads to inflammation, hypertrophy and degeneration, all of which areobserved in osteoarthritis. The researchers hope to use the chip to screen fornew drugs that can halt or even reverse this process, and which could make asignificant difference for patients with osteoarthritis. Future work will alsoinclude modeling an entire joint on a chip.
See a video about the research below:
Study in Nature BiomedicalEngineering: Hyperphysiologicalcompression of articular cartilage induces an osteoarthritic phenotype in acartilage-on-a-chip model (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41551-019-0406-3)
Via: PolytechnicUniversity of Milan (https://www.polimi.it/en/news-details/article/10/osteoartrosi-un-chip-mima-la-malattia-per-ideare-farmaci-efficaci-6869/)
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Medgadget?d=yIl2AUoC8zA (http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Medgadget?a=wFnVWEz64a0:_mcoIgjxZXo:yIl2AUoC8zA) http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Medgadget?d=qj6IDK7rITs (http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Medgadget?a=wFnVWEz64a0:_mcoIgjxZXo:qj6IDK7rITs) http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Medgadget?i=wFnVWEz64a0:_mcoIgjxZXo:gIN9vFwOqvQ (http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Medgadget?a=wFnVWEz64a0:_mcoIgjxZXo:gIN9vFwOqvQ)
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Medgadget/~4/wFnVWEz64a0