Technology Transfer of the Microphysiological Systems: A Case Study of the Human Proximal Tubule Tissue Chip

Authors:
Courtney Sakolish , Elijah J Weber , Edward J Kelly , Jonathan Himmelfarb , Roula Mouneimne , Fabian A Grimm , John S House , Terry Wade , Arum Han , Weihsueh A Chiu , Ivan Rusyn 
In:
Source: Scientific Reports
Publication Date: (2018)
Issue: 8(1): 14882-14896
Research Area:
Basic Research
Drug Discovery
Cells used in publication:
Renal proximal tubule cells (RPTEC), human
Species: human
Tissue Origin: kidney
Experiment

comparison between HIM-31 and primary RPTEC cells ( cc-2553): gene expression/staining. 

Abstract

The adoption of a new technology into basic research, and industrial and clinical settings requires rigorous testing to build confidence in the reproducibility, reliability, robustness, and relevance of these models. Tissue chips are promising new technology, they have the potential to serve as a valuable tool in biomedical research, as well as pharmaceutical development with regards to testing for efficacy and safety. The principal goals of this study were to validate a previously established proximal tubule tissue chip model in an independent laboratory and to extend its utility to testing of nephrotoxic compounds. Here, we evaluated critical endpoints from the tissue chip developer laboratory, focusing on biological relevance (long-term viability, baseline protein and gene expression, ammoniagenesis, and vitamin D metabolism), and toxicity biomarkers. Tissue chip experiments were conducted in parallel with traditional 2D culture conditions using two different renal proximal tubule epithelial cell sources. The results of these studies were then compared to the findings reported by the tissue chip developers. While the overall transferability of this advanced tissue chip platform was a success, the reproducibility with the original report was greatly dependent on the cell source. This study demonstrates critical importance of developing microphysiological platforms using renewable cell sources.drug development.