Researchers Create the World's First Functional Human Splenon-on-a-Chip

Scientists from ISGlobal's research centre CRESIB and the Institute of Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) have designed the first-ever functional 3D splenon capable of reproducing the function of the spleen, which is to filter red blood cells. To do this, they created a microscale platform that reproduces the physical and hydrodynamic properties of the functional unit of the splenic red pulp, the splenon. The device may serve to investigate potential drugs for malaria and other blood disorders. The study reporting the development was published in Lab on a Chip.

The idea of creating a splenon-on-a-chip stemmed from the research groups led by Dr. Hernando del Portillo, an ICREA research professor at CRESIB, an ISGlobal research centre, and Dr. Josep Samitier, Director of IBEC and professor at the University of Barcelona. The CRESIB group has been studying the role of the spleen in malaria for several years, while the IBEC group has been investigating the rheological properties of blood including those of malaria-infected blood, to develop diagnostic systems. "Because of ethical and technological limitations, very little progress has been made in the study of the spleen, which is known as the "black box" of the abdominal cavity", explained del Portillo. To overcome these obstacles, CRESIB and IBEC launched a joint programme to develop a microengineered human splenon-on-a-chip with support from the Spanish government's EXPLORA project. "Our device should make it easier to study the function of the spleen in the future, and might even provide a flexible platform to screen for potential drugs against malaria and other blood disorders" said del Portillo.

As IBEC researcher and co-author of the paper Dr. Antoni Homs explained, "the fluidic system in the spleen is highly complex and has adapted over the course of evolution to selectively filter and destroy old red blood cells, microorganisms, and malaria-infected cells". "The spleen filters blood using a unique method, making it "microcirculate" through filtration beds in a special compartment where the percentage of red blood cells is increased. This facilitates the recognition and destruction of unhealthy cells by specialised macrophages."

"Research into organs on chips integrating microfluidics and cell systems is still in its early phases, but it offers holds enormous promise for testing drugs for different diseases in the future", stated Samitier. These 3D devices, by mimicking the tissue–tissue interfaces and unique microenvironments seen in whole living organs, allow new insights into diseases that cannot easily be obtained with conventional animal studies, which are costly and time-consuming. They may also yield results related to humans that animal models cannot predict.

Josep Samitier y Hernando del Portillo: el bazo en un chip from ISGlobal on Vimeo.

More Information

Paper: Functional microengineered model of the human splenon-on-a-chip.  Lab Chip

Video of the functional microengineered model of the human splenon-on-a-chip