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Gut–liver on a chip toward an in vitro model of hepatic steatosis
Author(s) -
Lee Seung Yeon,
Sung Jong Hwan
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
biotechnology and bioengineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.136
H-Index - 189
eISSN - 1097-0290
pISSN - 0006-3592
DOI - 10.1002/bit.26793
Subject(s) - steatosis , lipid metabolism , fatty liver , butyrate , hepatic stellate cell , metabolism , medicine , chemistry , absorption (acoustics) , gut flora , endocrinology , biochemistry , biology , physics , disease , fermentation , acoustics
Hepatic steatosis is a process of abnormal lipid deposition within the liver cells, often caused by excessive alcohol uptake or obesity. A conventional in vitro model for hepatic steatosis uses a liver cell culture, treated with fatty acids and measures accumulation of lipids within the cells. This model does not recapitulate the complex process of absorption and metabolism of digestive lipids. Here, we introduce a gut–liver chip, which mimics the gut absorption and hepatic metabolism in a microfluidic chip. Absorption of fatty acids through gut layer and subsequent deposition within liver cells was demonstrated. Tumor necrosis factor‐α, butyrate, and α‐lipoic acid were chosen as model molecules that can affect hepatic steatosis via different mechanisms, and their effects were evaluated. Our results suggest that the gut–liver chip can mimic the absorption and accumulation of fatty acids in the gut and the liver.