A multi-disciplinary research team at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering and Boston Children’s Hospital, led by Dr. Donald Ingber, has developed an Lung Alveolus Chip to closely mimic radiation-induced lung injury (RILI) and radiation dose sensitivity in the human lung.
This Lung Alveolus Chip is a system created using human lung cells that are cultured in a microfluidic device. One channel exposes lung epithelial cells to air, simulating their natural environment. In the parallel channel, lung capillary endothelial cells are cultured and constantly perfused with a nutrient medium that contains immune cells. This setup, which replicates the alveolar-capillary interface in the lung, can help study radiation responses.
Using this Lung Alveolus Chip the researchers observed radiation-induced DNA damage, changes in gene expression, inflammation, and injury to lung epithelial cells and blood vessel endothelial cells.
The model helped to identify a gene called HMOX1, involved in an anti-oxidant response, as a potential drug target to mitigate early effects of radiation-induced lung injury(RILI). This innovative approach provides a human-relevant preclinical platform for drug discovery and a better understanding of radiation injury in the lung, with implications for both cancer treatment and nuclear incidents.
Ref: Dasgupta Q, Jiang A, Wen AM, et al. A human lung alveolus-on-a-chip model of acute radiation-induced lung injury. Nature Communications. 2023;14(1):6506. doi:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-42171-z