Establishment of an Organ-on-a-chip facility for Veterinary Species

芯片上器官(OOC)是包含在微流控芯片内生长的工程或自然微型组织的系统。为了更好地模拟物种生理，这些芯片被设计成控制细胞微环境并保持组织特有的功能。事实上，与传统的2D细胞培养相比，例如原代细胞培养或组织切片，芯片上器官系统允许不同细胞的受控共培养，以模拟组织和器官的各种结构和功能，如血脑屏障、肺和心脏。更重要的是，OOC大大减少了样品体积，降低了试剂成本，并通过实时分析最大限度地从珍贵样品中收集信息，为筛选应用和类似于多孔板的批量样品处理提供了可扩展性。OOC技术允许研究人员复制组织和器官的功能，弥合了动物和人类系统之间的差距，但也减少了对大量动物的需求，从而与3R保持一致。OOC被认为是一种令人兴奋的体外替代方案，用于评估再生系统和疫苗学的新系统。该提案要求提供资金，以购买模拟ZOE设备。该培养模块为多达12个器官芯片提供动态培养条件。用户可以根据研究需要设置一系列自动流和循环拉伸参数作为一个开放平台，Zoë使研究人员能够为各种应用建立各种器官模型--从疾病建模到靶点验证，从疾病建模到药物靶点验证，再到候选药物的安全性和有效性评估。事实上，在RVC和其他地方进行的研究已经确定了使用这种系统的多种可能性，除了经典的原代细胞培养/组织切片以通过更好地了解3D组织复合体中的宿主-病原体相互作用、再生医学疗法的开发(例如肌腱干细胞疗法，多细胞系统中的疾病(心脏和眼睛)、肾功能衰竭和癌症，允许分析组织与其他细胞类型/治疗策略的相互作用。获得这个Zoe培养模块不仅使研究人员能够确定与这些情况有关的目标蛋白如何扰乱细胞的生物能量谱，以及潜在的新疗法如何恢复细胞健康。

Organs-on-chips (OoC) are systems containing engineered or natural miniature tissues grown inside microfluidic chips. To better mimic species physiology, the chips are designed to control cell microenvironments and maintain tissue-specific functions. Indeed, compared to traditional 2D cell culturing, such as primary cell cultures or tissue slices , organ-on-a-chip systems allow the controlled co-culture of different cells to mimic various structures and functions of tissues and organs, such as blood-brain barrier, lung and heart. More importantly, OoC reduce the sample volume substantially, reduce the cost of reagents and maximize information gleaned from precious samples by real time analysis, provide gains in scalability for screening applications and batch sample processing analogous to multi-well plates. OoC technology allows researchers to replicate the function of tissues and organs, bridging the gap between animals and human systems, but also reducing the need for large animal numbers, thus being in-line with the 3Rs. OoC are seen as an exciting in vitro alternative to assess new systems for regenerative system as well as vaccinology.This proposal requests funding to purchase an Emulate Zoe device. This culture module provides dynamic culture conditions for up to 12 Organ-Chips. Users can set a range of automated flow and cyclic stretch parameters depending on study needs As an open platform, Zoë enables researchers to build a wide variety of organ models for myriad applications-from disease modeling, to target validation, to drug from disease modeling, to target validation, to drug candidate safety and efficacy evaluation.Indeed, research carried out at the RVC and elsewhere has identified multiple possibilities to use such a system, in addition to classical primary cell cultures/tissue slices to assess the development of new vaccines/vaccine approaches by better understanding host-pathogen interaction in a 3d tissue complex, the development of regenerative medicine therapies (e.g. stem cell therapy for tendon, heart and eye), kidney failures and cancer in a multi-cell system, allowing for the interaction of tissue with other cell types/treatment strategies to be analysed. Acquiring this Zoe Culture module would not only enable researchers to determine how target proteins implicated in these conditions perturb the cellular bioenergetic profile and how potential new therapies might restore cellular health.