Chronic lung diseases are one of the leading causes of death worldwide, yet treatment options remain limited. One major obstacle in the development of lung drugs is the lack of preclinical models that can replicate the complexity of the lungs. Although the latest airway chip models have made progress by integrating vascular and extracellular matrix (ECM) components, they are mainly limited to planar configurations. There are relatively few tubular designs, but they usually lack perfusable vascular chambers that support dynamic endothelial-epithelial interactions. To fill this gap, we introduced an airway tube that integrates engineered ECM (EnECM) hydrogels with tubular melt electrospun (MEW) scaffolds. This hydrogel is calibrated to match the rigidity of lung tissue. MEW enhances the EnECM hydrogel to enable dynamic culture while not affecting cell behavior. The tubular EnECM/MEW construct embeds patient-derived primary human pulmonary microvascular endothelial cells within the EnECM hydrogel, forming perfusable endothelial cavities, while primary human bronchial epithelial cells are cultured on the outer layer (outer layer) to form an apical-lateral interface (ALI) epithelium. Through endothelial cavity pulsatile perfusion, nutrients and mechanical signals (shear stress and cyclic stretching) are provided while maintaining ALI culture. This study jointly established a multifunctional hydrogel platform for the next generation of airway chip models, opening up new opportunities for preclinical lung research and the development of precision treatments. This research was published in Advanced Materials under the title "Hydrogel-Based Airway-on-Tube with Perforable Endothelial Lumen and Outward Epithelialization".
Reference Information:
DOI: 10.1002/adma.20252358