Towards a multi-organ-chip platform combining human liver, pancreatic islets, skeletal muscle and kidney equivalents to study metabolic diseases

Background: In vivo experiments for the study of metabolic diseases are crucial, however limited due to phylogenetic differences between humans and animals. Here, an approach to systemically combine several human organ models to study pathogenesis and therapeutic intervention in metabolic diseases is shown. Methods: At the size of a microscopic glass slide, the multi-organ-chip consists of two independent microfluidic circuits, representing the blood circulation and the urinary tract. At their interconnection the circuits are separated by a PET membrane, allowing the cultivation of kidney proximal tubule cells.…