Organs-on-Chips with integrated electrodes for Trans-Epithelial Electrical Resistance (TEER) measurements of human epithelial barrier function

摘要

Trans-Epithelial Electrical Resistance (TEER) is broadly used as an experimental readout and a quality control assay for measuring the integrity of epithelial monolayers cultured under static conditions in vitro, however, there is no standard methodology for its application to microfluidic Organ-on-a-Chip (Organ Chip) cultures. Here, we describe a new microfluidic Organ Chip design that contains embedded electrodes, and we demonstrate its utility for assessing formation and disruption of barrier function both within a human Lung Airway Chip lined by a fully differentiated mucociliary human airway epithelium and in a human Gut Chip lined by intestinal epithelial cells. These chips with integrated electrodes enable real-time, non-invasive monitoring of TEER and can be applied to measure barrier function in virtually any type of cultured cell.