Organ Model: Digestive System

With over 150 peer-reviewed publications across 30+ organ models, Emulate Organ-Chips are empowering researchers to make game-changing scientific breakthroughs! Download this digest to easily explore all publications related to your field of research, or to just learn more about how the technology itself is developing.

New this quarter:

Fallopian Tube

• Human fallopian tube-on-a-chip for preclinical testing of non-hormonal contraceptives with living human sperm

Intestine

• Probiotic intervention mitigates radiation-induced intestinal injury by alleviating oxidative stress in a human gut-on-a-chip

Lung (Airway)

• Development of an acute inhalation toxicity testing method based on a lung-on-a-chip

Lung (Alveolus)

• Enhanced lung delivery of an immunostimulatory duplex RNA augments the antitumor activity by reshaping systemic cytokine pharmacodynamics

Lung (Alveolus)

• Alveolus-on-a-Chip: A Novel Tool for Modeling Lung Transplant Cold Storage Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury

Placenta

• Simvastatin Restores Uteroplacental Hemodynamics and Trophoblast Function in Obstetric Antiphospholipid Syndrome in a Placenta-on-a-Chip Model

REVIEW ARTICLES:

Female Reproductive Tract

• Female Reproductive Tract Organ-on-Chips: Modeling Barrier Function and Drug Transport

Drug Development

• Human organ-on-a-chip technology as a catalyst for drug discovery

PUBLISHED FROM PRE-PRINT:

Intestine (Colon)

• Human inflammatory bowel disease-on-a-chip for modelling disease progression, cancer initiation and sex-specific effects

Lymph Node

• In vitro recapitulation of intramuscular mRNA vaccination with naive and recall antigens using a human lymphoid follicle chip platform

Vasculature

• Human coronary artery organ-chip with circulating immune cells recapitulates anti-inflammatory effect of pulsatile wall strain

Application: Drug Discovery

Highlights

This review highlights Organ-Chips as a more human-relevant preclinical platform that recreates key aspects of organ physiology—including tissue-tissue interfaces, dynamic fluid flow, mechanical forces, and immune interactions—to improve prediction of human drug responses. Unlike conventional cell cultures or animal models, Organ-Chips enable therapeutics to be evaluated using clinically relevant dosing routes and pharmacokinetic profiles, supporting more accurate assessment of efficacy, toxicity, and mechanisms of resistance. The authors also emphasize that combining Organ-Chips with high-throughput screening, functional genomics, and artificial intelligence could accelerate target identification and drug discovery while helping reduce the high rate of clinical trial failures. Although challenges remain around standardization and scalability, the review concludes that Organ-Chips are poised to become an increasingly important tool for drug development and regulatory safety assessment.

Organ Model: Intestine (Caco-2)

Applications: Immunology & Inflammation

Highlights

In this study, a human Gut-on-a-Chip was used to model gastrointestinal acute radiation syndrome (GI-ARS). Researchers exposed intestinal epithelial cells and/or the surrounding culture medium to gamma radiation, enabling them to distinguish the direct effects of radiation from indirect injury mediated by irradiated extracellular factors. The Gut-on-a-Chip revealed that prolonged exposure to irradiated medium drove oxidative stress, epithelial injury, and disruption of intestinal tissue architecture. Using this model, the authors demonstrated that a commercially available probiotic formulation reduced oxidative stress, protected epithelial structure, and preserved tissue integrity, supporting its potential as a medical countermeasure for radiation-induced intestinal injury.

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Synopsis

Organ-on-a-Chip technology is emerging as a powerful New Approach Methodology (NAM) for drug development, driven by the need for more human-relevant and scalable experimental models. As these systems move toward broader adoption, a key challenge remains: generating consistent, interpretable data that supports confident experimental and translational decision-making.

This webinar examines how imaging and AI-driven analysis workflows enable Organ-Chip studies to scale from innovation to routine application. Speakers begin with an overview of Organ-on-a-Chip technology and its role in addressing translational gaps in drug discovery, highlighting how Liver-Chips are being evaluated in collaboration with regulatory agencies for better prediction of drug-induced liver injury.

The session then explores how the newly released AVA™ Emulation System enables scalable Organ-Chip experimentation through an integrated system for incubation, microfluidic delivery, and routine imaging. Paired with AI-driven analysis, brightfield image data can be used to automate quality control by monitoring chip health, morphology, and assay performance over time across large studies.

To complete the workflow, post-study high-resolution imaging is applied to evaluate more complex biological markers, including toxicology-relevant endpoints and drug uptake. These datasets are paired with advanced analysis techniques that translate imaging data into quantitative, biologically meaningful insights.

Attendees will gain a practical understanding of how unified imaging and analysis strategies—spanning routine QC through advanced interrogation—support scalability, reproducibility, and alignment with evolving regulatory expectations for Organ-Chips and other NAM-based drug development.

Organ Model: Mouth

Applications: Cancer

Highlights

This study presents a preliminary organ-on-a-chip model of oral dysplasia (OD-OoC) designed to better replicate the complex tissue interactions of precancerous lesions in the oral cavity. The microfluidic system integrates endothelial cells, gingival fibroblasts, and dysplastic oral keratinocytes across a collagen I–coated membrane, enabling organized three-dimensional cell–cell interactions under flow conditions. Imaging confirmed the presence and spatial organization of all cell types, as well as fibroblast migration across the membrane and dysplastic epithelial phenotypes distinct from healthy cells. This platform may provide a physiologically relevant in vitro tool to study epithelial transformation, cell migration, and early mechanisms involved in oral cancer development.

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Organ Model: Intestine (Colon)

Application: Immunology & Inflammation

How Organ-Chips Were Used: Patient-specific epithelial cells and stromal fibroblasts were isolated and cultured to establish healthy and IBD-specific Colon Intestine-Chips.

Key highlights:

• Colon Intestine-Chips replicated key hallmarks of IBD, including inflammation, compromised barrier function, reduced mucus accumulation, fibrosis, and increased cancer risk.
• Stromal fibroblasts from IBD patients were identified as primary drivers of intestinal barrier disruption and inflammation.
• Peristalsis-like mechanical deformations have a direct effect on mucus production, and they exacerbated inflammation and fibrosis in IBD Chips but not in healthy chips.
• Mechanical deformations also enhanced immune cell migration in IBD Chips.

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Organ Model: Intestine

Applications: ADME

Highlights

This study directly compared three culture formats—organoids, Transwells, and intestine-on-chip systems—using the same hiPSC-derived intestinal epithelial cells to understand how culture context shapes biology. While all three models supported intestinal differentiation, the Intestine-Chip consistently reproduced the most mature, adult-like phenotype, with the strongest upregulation of genes involved in digestion, nutrient transport, and drug metabolism, including CYP enzymes. The dynamic flow and physiologically relevant microenvironment provided by the Organ-Chip drove functional maturation that static organoid and Transwell systems could not achieve. These findings highlight Organ-Chips as a more predictive platform for studying human intestinal function, drug absorption, and DDI risk.

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Organ Model: Intestine (Duodenum)

Applications: ADME

Highlights

Researchers used the Duodenum Intestine-Chip to enable more physiologically relevant measurements of drug permeability than conventional static or animal-based models. By benchmarking permeability of three model compounds against RRCK cells and correlating chip-derived values with clinical P_eff, the researchers demonstrated that Organ-Chip data can be integrated into PBPK platforms like Simcyp® and GastroPlus™ to improve predictions of human systemic exposure. This work highlights the potential of Organ-Chips to enhance drug absorption modeling and reduce reliance on less predictive preclinical systems.

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Synopsis

Personalized medicine has long held the promise of tailoring treatments to the biology of each individual patient. Until now, however, the field has lacked a truly predictive human model. In a breakthrough that could transform how precision oncology is practiced, Dr. Lorenzo Ferri (McGill University) and Dr. Donald Ingber (Wyss Institute at Harvard University) have developed a patient-derived Organ-Chip model that accurately predicts individual responses to cancer therapeutics, outperforming current organoid models.  

In this webinar, Dr. Ferri, a leading clinician-scientist in esophageal and foregut malignancies, will share how his team leveraged Organ-on-a-Chip technology to create personalized models of EAC directly from patient tumors. These EAC-Chips faithfully recapitulate each patient’s unique tumor microenvironment and response to chemotherapeutics, marking a major advance toward functional precision oncology. 

Following the presentation, Dr. Ingber, the pioneer of Organ-on-a-Chip technology, will join Dr. Ferri for a live discussion and Q&A exploring how this work establishes Organ-on-a-Chip technology as a transformative platform for personalized medicine. Together, they will examine the implications of this study for clinical translation, therapeutic development, and the future of individualized cancer care. 

Key Learning Points 

• Discover a new approach to personalized medicine: Learn how patient-derived Organ-Chips can replicate individual tumor biology and predict patient-specific therapeutic responses. 
• Compare Organ-Chips and organoids: Understand why Organ-Chip models more accurately capture human tissue physiology and drug sensitivity than traditional organoid systems. 
• Explore translational potential: See how Organ-on-a-Chip technology bridges clinical and experimental research, creating opportunities for functional precision oncology and more effective treatment selection. 
• Gain insight from leaders in the field: Hear directly from the study’s senior authors on how integrating clinical expertise and bioengineering innovation can accelerate personalized cancer care. 

Organ Model: Colorectal cancer

Application: Cancer

Highlights

This study used Organ-Chips to recreate patient-specific colorectal cancer tumors in a dynamic, gut-like environment. The chips revealed that cancers with Ras mutations produce excess GABA, which drives tumor invasion, and that blocking this pathway can reduce invasiveness. These insights link clinical trial data to a new therapeutic opportunity and highlight the power of Organ-Chips to uncover cancer mechanisms that traditional models miss.

Related Resources

A Patient-Derived Organ-on-Chip Platform to Model the Colorectal Tumor Microenvironment and Cancer Progression

In this webinar from Drug Discovery Day 2024, Carly Strelez, PhD, discusses her work using Organ-on-a-Chip technology to better understand colorectal cancer progression and transform approaches to personalized medicine.

Cancer-on-a-chip: Modeling Colorectal Cancer Progression

In this on-demand webinar, Shannon Mumenthaler, PhD, discusses recent advancements made through combining Organ-Chip models with high content imaging and mass spectrometry-based metabolomics to improve our understanding of ​microenvironmental contributions to colorectal cancer progression. 

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