Towards the development of human immune-system-on-a-chip platforms

TL;DR

This paper reviews the development of organ-on-a-chip platforms focusing on integrating the immune system, highlighting their potential to transform drug discovery and personalized medicine.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of microfluidic devices that mimic immune-related organs, addressing a gap in current organ-on-a-chip research.

Findings

Immune system integration in OoCs is advancing but still limited.

Microfluidic models of lymphoid organs are being developed.

These platforms could improve drug testing and immune therapy development.

Abstract

Organ-on-a-chip (OoCs) platforms could revolutionize drug discovery and might ultimately become essential tools for precision therapy. Although many single-organ and interconnected systems have been described, the immune system has been comparatively neglected, despite its pervasive role in the body and the trend towards newer therapeutic products (i.e., complex biologics, nanoparticles, immune checkpoint inhibitors, and engineered T cells) that often cause, or are based on, immune reactions. In this review, we recapitulate some distinctive features of the immune system before reviewing microfluidic devices that mimic lymphoid organs or other organs and/or tissues with an integrated immune system component.