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Mechanical Stimulation: A Crucial Element of Organ-on-Chip Models

Organ-on-chip (OOC) systems recapitulate key biological processes and responses in vitro exhibited by cells, tissues, and organs in vivo. Accordingly, these models of both health and disease hold great promise for improving fundamental research, drug development, personalized medicine, and testing of pharmaceuticals, food substances, pollutants, etc. Cells within the body are exposed to biomechanical stimuli, the nature of which is tissue-specific and may change with disease or injury. These biomechanical stimuli regulate cell behavior and can amplify, annul, or even reverse the response to a given biochemical cue or drug candidate. As such, the application of an appropriate physiological or pathological biomechanical environment is essential for the successful recapitulation of in vivo behavior in OOC models. Here we review the current range of commercially available OOC platforms that incorporate active biomechanical stimulation. We highlight recent findings demonstrating the importance of including mechanical stimuli in models used for drug development and outline emerging factors that regulate the cellular response to the biomechanical environment. We explore the incorporation of mechanical stimuli in different organ models and identify areas where further research and development is required. Challenges associated with the integration of mechanics alongside other OOC requirements including scaling to increase throughput and diagnostic imaging are discussed. In summary, compelling evidence demonstrates that the incorporation of biomechanical stimuli in these OOC or microphysiological systems is key to fully replicating in vivo physiology in health and disease.1


Schematic illustration of biomechanical stimuli and examples of how these stimuli could be implemented in organ-on-chip systems. (A–E) Active biomechanical stimuli including (A) fluid shear stress, (B) interstitial fluid flow, (C) hydrostatic pressure, (D) tensile stretch, and (E) compression. (F–H) Passive biomechanical stimuli including (F) substrate stiffness, (G) substrate topography, and (H) geometric confinement.

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