uKnee – Cartilage micro-tissue model for osteoarthrosis research and drug testing
CompanyBiomimX S.r.l., Milano, Italy
The company BiomimX has developed an organ-on-chip model with which, for the first time, the clinical picture of arthrosis can be simulated in vitro and researched further. For this purpose, a cartilage micro-tissue is first cultivated from healthy cells. Using the uBeat Compress technology, the cell culture embedded in a hydrogel is kept in a static state for a period of 2 weeks. The resulting cartilage model corresponds in its extracellular deposits and gene profile to those of healthy human cartilage. A mechanical overload of the knee joint is then simulated using the uBeat technology, which leads to a loss of expression of anabolic genes. At the same time, an increased production of cartilage-degrading genes and an upregulation of inflammation-relevant genes can be observed in the model. The gene expression profile also shows characteristic changes that correspond to the clinical picture of progressive joint wear and tear in the knee joint. Thus, uKnee proves to be a promising model for investigating specific pathological changes that are associated with osteoarthritis of the knee joint and enables the testing of drugs that counteract the course of the disease.
uKnee
info@biomimx.com
Added on: 06-27-2023
[1] https://www.biomimx.com/uknee/
