Han Mingying, Lin Weiping, Cao Yuanxiong, Murray Patricia, Wilm Bettina, McWilliam Stephen J, Curran Jude, Xie Ruoxiao
Department of Materials, Design and Manufacturing Engineering, School of Engineering, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, L69, UK.
Centre for Regenerative Medicine and Health, Hong Kong Institute of Science and Innovation, CAS Ltd., Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, China.
Adv Healthc Mater. 2025 Jun 29:e2500550. doi: 10.1002/adhm.202500550.
The global increase in chronic diseases and comorbidities due to aging populations is placing significant strain on healthcare systems. Chronic kidney disease (CKD) and osteoarthritis (OA) are among the most prevalent conditions in the elderly, with complex interconnections driven by shared risk factors such as systemic inflammation and metabolic dysregulation. Despite the critical need to understand these interactions, traditional animal models often fail to adequately capture the multidirectional crosstalk between human comorbid conditions, limiting insights into their mechanisms and complicating translational research. Advancements in microphysiological systems (MPS), which also known as organ-on-a-chip (OoC) technologies, offer a promising alternative for studying comorbidities, such as CKD-OA. MPS, which integrate human cells within biomimetic, bioengineered platforms, replicate the structural and functional properties of human tissues with unparalleled physiological relevance. This review explores the transformative potential of MPS technology in comorbidity research, focusing on CKD-OA as a case study. Kidney-on-a-chip and joint-on-a-chip models and their applications in CKD and OA modeling are summarized and discussed. Furthermore, multi-organ-on-a-chip systems are = discussed for their potential to model comorbidities = and support the development of safer and more effective disease treatment strategies. This review underscores the potential of MPS to revolutionize comorbidity research and pave the way for personalized therapies.
由于人口老龄化导致的全球慢性病和合并症增加，给医疗系统带来了巨大压力。慢性肾脏病（CKD）和骨关节炎（OA）是老年人中最常见的疾病，它们受全身炎症和代谢失调等共同危险因素驱动，存在复杂的相互联系。尽管迫切需要了解这些相互作用，但传统动物模型往往无法充分捕捉人类合并症之间的多向串扰，限制了对其机制的深入了解，并使转化研究复杂化。微生理系统（MPS）（也称为芯片器官（OoC）技术）的进展为研究合并症（如CKD - OA）提供了一种有前景的替代方法。MPS将人类细胞整合到仿生的生物工程平台中，以无与伦比的生理相关性复制人类组织的结构和功能特性。本综述探讨了MPS技术在合并症研究中的变革潜力，以CKD - OA为例进行研究。总结并讨论了芯片肾脏和芯片关节模型及其在CKD和OA建模中的应用。此外，还讨论了多器官芯片系统在模拟合并症以及支持开发更安全、更有效的疾病治疗策略方面的潜力。本综述强调了MPS在彻底改变合并症研究并为个性化治疗铺平道路方面的潜力。
