Multi-Compartment Lymph-Node-on-a-Chip Enables Measurement of Immune Cell Motility in Response to Drugs.
Organs On-a-Chip represent novel platforms for modelling human physiology and disease. The lymph node (LN) is a relevant immune organ in which B and T lymphocytes are spatially organized in a complex architecture, and it is the place where the immune response initiates. The present study addresses the utility of a recently designed LN-on-a-chip to dissect and understand the effect of drugs delivered to cells in a fluidic multicellular 3D setting that mimics the human LN. To do so, we analyzed the motility and viability of human B and T cells exposed to hydroxychloroquine (HCQ). We show that the innovative LN platform, which operates at a microscale level, allows real-time monitoring of co-cultured B and T cells by imaging, and supports cellular random movement. HCQ delivered to cells through a constant and continuous flow induces a reduction in T cell velocity while promotes persistent rotational motion. We also find that HCQ increases the production of reactive oxygen species in T cells. Taken together, these results highlight the potential of the LN-on-a-chip to be applied in drug screening and development, and in cellular dynamics studies.
['Hallfors|Nicholas|N|', 'Shanti|Aya|A|', 'Sapudom|Jiranuwat|J|0000-0001-6627-7713', 'Teo|Jeremy|J|', 'Petroianu|Georg|G|', 'Lee|SungMun|S|', 'Planelles|Lourdes|L|', 'Stefanini|Cesare|C|']
motility hydroxychloroquine rotational motion reactive oxygen species lymph node-on-a-chip