11 | Modelling neuroinflammation in 3D neurovascular unit model

To model the human neurovascular unit in vitro, we will employ the cutting-edge OrganoPlate® platform. This is a high-throughput, microfluidic Organ-on-a-Chip technology that simulates important physiological aspects of tissues by enabling 3D cell culture under continuous perfusion (flow), membrane-free co-culture of different cell types, and tissue boundary and gradient formation. We will develop 3D on-a-chip cultures, comprising microvascular endothelial cells, pericytes and astrocytes, which mimic the neurovascular unit (NVU) and use this tool to study neuroinflammation at the NVU.

Publications

  • Junaid A, Mashaghi A, Hankemeier T, Vulto P. An End-User Perspective on Organ-on-a-Chip: Assays and Usability Aspects. Curr Opin Biomed Eng 2017, doi:10.1016/j.cobme.2017.02.002.
  • Trietsch SJ, Naumovska E, Kurek D, Setyawati MC, Vormann MK, Wilschut KJ, Lanz HL, Nicolas A, Ng CP, Joore J, Kustermann S, Roth A, Hankemeier T, Moisan A, Vulto P. Membrane-free culture and real-time barrier integrity assessment of perfused intestinal epithelium tubes. Nat Commun 2017;8:262.
  • Wevers NR, van Vught R, Wilschut KJ, Nicolas A, Chiang C, Lanz HL, Trietsch SJ, Joore J, Vulto P. High-throughput compound evaluation on 3D networks of neurons and glia in a microfluidic platform. Sci Rep 2016, 6:38856.
  • Wevers NR, Kasi, DG, Gray T,Wilschut KJ, Smith B, van Vught R, Shimizu F, Sano Y, Kanda T, Marsh G et al. A perfused human blood-brain barrier on-a-chip for high-throughput assessment of barrier function and antibody transport. Fluids Barriers CNS 2018, 15: 23
  • Marx U, Andersson TB, Bahinski A, Beilmann M, Beken S, Cassee FR, Cirit M, Daneshian M, Fitzpatrick S, Frey O, Gaertner C, Giese C, Griffith L, Hartung T, Heringa MB, Hoeng J, de Jong WH, Kojima H, Kuehnl J, Leist M, Luch A, Maschmeyer I, Sakharov D, Sips AJ, Steger-Hartmann T, Tagle DA, Tonevitsky A, Tralau T, Tsyb S, van de Stolpe A, Vandebriel R, Vulto P, Wang J, Wiest J, Rodenburg M, Roth A. Biology-inspired microphysiological system approaches to solve the prediction dilemma of substance testing. ALTEX 2016;33:272-321.
  • Trietsch SJ, Israëls GD, Joore J, Hankemeier T, Vulto P. Microfluidic titer plate for stratified 3D cell culture. Lab Chip 2013;13:3548.


Potential secondments

UHEL (Jari Koistinaho), month 8-10; INSERM (Denis Vivien), month 16; UZL (Markus Schwaninger) and CSIC (Anna Planas), month 22-24; IEMHAS (Ádám Dénes), month 33.

Host Organisation:
MIMETAS, Netherlands
Supervisor:
Henriette Lanz, Nienke Wevers