Islet-on-a-chip for the study of pancreatic β-cell function

Diabetes mellitus is a significant public health problem worldwide. It encompasses a group of chronic disorders characterized by hyperglycemia, resulting from pancreatic islet dysfunction or as a consequence of insulin-producing β-cell death. Organ-on-a-chip platforms have emerged as technological s...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Ramón Azcón, Javier, Rodríguez Comas, Júlia
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2021
País:España
Institución:Varias* (Consorci de Biblioteques Universitáries de Catalunya, Centre de Serveis Científics i Acadèmics de Catalunya)
Repositorio:Recercat. Dipósit de la Recerca de Catalunya
OAI Identifier:oai:recercat.cat:2445/182811
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/2445/182811
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Diabetis
Enginyeria biomèdica
Diabetes
Biomedical engineering
Descripción
Sumario:Diabetes mellitus is a significant public health problem worldwide. It encompasses a group of chronic disorders characterized by hyperglycemia, resulting from pancreatic islet dysfunction or as a consequence of insulin-producing β-cell death. Organ-on-a-chip platforms have emerged as technological systems combining cell biology, engineering, and biomaterial technological advances with microfluidics to recapitulate a specific organ’s physiological or pathophysiological environment. These devices offer a novel model for the screening of pharmaceutical agents and to study a particular disease. In the field of diabetes, a variety of microfluidic devices have been introduced to recreate native islet microenvironments and to understand pancreatic β-cell kinetics in vitro. This kind of platforms has been shown fundamental for the study of the islet function and to assess the quality of these islets for subsequent in vivo transplantation. However, islet physiological systems are still limited compared to other organs and tissues, evidencing the difficulty to study this “organ” and the need for further technological advances. In this review, we summarize the current state of islet-on-a-chip platforms that have been developed so far. We recapitulate the most relevant studies involving pancreatic islets and microfluidics, focusing on the molecular and cellular-scale activities that underlie pancreatic β-cell function.