Placenta on a chip: A humanized platform for testing of pharmaceuticals and environmental chemicals

胎盘芯片：用于测试药物和环境化学品的人性化平台

• 批准号: 523792-2018
• 负责人: Raha, Sandeep
• 金额: $ 7.22万
• 依托单位: McMaster University
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Collaborative Health Research Projects
• 财政年份: 2018
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2018-01-01 至 2019-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=662884
• 关键词: Placenta; chip; humanized; platform; testing

The human placenta is a complex organ that controls the health of the baby and also impacts**the health of the mother. Signals from the cells that form the barrier between mother and fetus**can program the babies health after it is born or control whether the baby is born**prematurely. 1 in 9 babies are born prematurely and this can lead to many health problems in**later life. It is difficult to study this barrier in animal models or humans because of the**complexity of the placenta. Our research will develop a placenta on a chip; a micro-device**that mimics a small section of the human placenta in 3D. We will develop special surfaces**that allow the stem cells of the placenta to behave as though they were in their natural**environment within the womb. This portable placenta will be the first example of such a**device that brings together the important cells of the placenta and simulates the proper**oxygen levels and blood flow that would exist in the human placenta. This device will be very**useful in reducing the cost of testing drugs to see if they would be harmful to the mother or**fetus and also help to reduce the number of animals that are used in drug testing. Importantly,**we will also verify whether this device predicts the biological responses of actual placental**tissues when treated with environmental toxins; something that no one has evaluated. We will**easily and inexpensively be able to identify whether certain chemicals are causing the**maternal-fetal barrier to release signals that might harm the baby or cause premature birth.**We have already partnered with Evik Diagnostics, a Canadian company that is interested in**diagnostic testing for conditions that affect the health of the mother and baby in pregnancy.

人类胎盘是一个复杂的器官，既控制着婴儿的健康，也影响着母亲的健康。形成母婴屏障的细胞发出的信号可以控制婴儿出生后的健康状况，或者控制婴儿是否早产。每9个婴儿中就有1个早产，这可能会在**以后的生活中导致许多健康问题。由于胎盘的复杂性，很难在动物模型或人类中研究这种屏障。我们的研究将开发出芯片上的胎盘；这是一种3D模拟人类胎盘一小部分的微型设备。我们将开发特殊的表面，使胎盘的干细胞能够像在子宫内的自然环境中一样活动。这种便携式胎盘将是此类设备的第一个例子，它将胎盘的重要细胞聚集在一起，并模拟人类胎盘中存在的适当的氧气水平和血液流动。这种设备在降低测试药物是否对母亲或胎儿有害的成本方面非常有用，也有助于减少用于药物测试的动物数量。重要的是，我们还将验证该设备是否能预测实际胎盘组织在受到环境毒素处理时的生物反应；没有人评估过的东西。我们将能够轻松、廉价地确定某些化学物质是否会导致母胎屏障释放出可能伤害婴儿或导致早产的信号。**我们已经与加拿大公司Evik Diagnostics合作，该公司对影响怀孕期间母亲和婴儿健康的疾病的诊断测试感兴趣。