Imagine a Breakthrough in Medical Research: Lattice – An Innovative Disease Simulator
Introduction: Revolutionizing Medical Research with Lattice
Imagine a device smaller than a toddler’s shoebox that has the power to simulate any human disease and test new drugs, all without entering or harming the body. This groundbreaking technology, called Lattice, has been developed by scientists at Northwestern University, and it promises to revolutionize medical research. In this article, we will explore the incredible capabilities of Lattice, its significant advantages over current in vitro systems, and the potential it holds for advancing our understanding of human diseases and drug development.
The Lattice Technology: Unlocking New Possibilities for Medical Research
Scientists at Northwestern University have developed Lattice, a breakthrough technology capable of studying interactions between up to eight single organ tissue cultures. Unlike current in vitro systems that can only study two cell cultures simultaneously, Lattice allows researchers to replicate how real organs respond by mimicking interactions between multiple organs over long periods of time.
Achieving Realistic Simulations for In-Depth Analysis
The objective of Lattice is to simulate what happens inside the human body, enabling researchers to analyze various scenarios and gain valuable insights. For example, with Lattice, scientists can study how obesity affects a certain disease, how women metabolize drugs differently from men, or the root cause of diseases that eventually affect multiple organs.
Lead scientist Julie Kim, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, emphasizes the significance of Lattice in mimicking the complexity of the human body. She explains, “Currently, scientists use dishes that have one or two types of cells, and then do in-depth research and analysis, but Lattice is a breakthrough. This platform is much better suited to mimic what happens in the body, because it can simulate so many organs at the same time.”
Replicating Realistic Scenarios for Complex Diseases
One of the fascinating applications of Lattice is its ability to study complex diseases that involve multiple organs. For instance, Kim’s lab is currently using Lattice to investigate polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), a condition that affects not just the ovaries but also various organ systems in the body. With Lattice, the researchers have the power to manipulate and control which organ is causing the disease. By studying the interactions between different organs affected by PCOS, they can gain a deeper understanding of its development and potential treatments.
A Step Towards Safer Drug Development: The Missing Link
One of the crucial aspects of medical research is testing new drugs for safety and efficacy. Currently, the process involves starting in the laboratory, followed by animal testing, and eventually clinical trials in humans. However, there is a significant gap between animal testing and clinical trials. Many drugs that pass animal studies often fail in humans, causing substantial setbacks in drug development.
This is where Lattice comes in as a potential solution. Julie Kim believes that Lattice could act as an intermediate step between animal studies and clinical trials. By testing drugs that have passed animal studies on human tissues using Lattice, researchers can gain valuable insights into their safety and effectiveness, providing an additional fail-safe check before introducing them into human bodies.
Longer-Term Studies for Deeper Insights
Standard primary cell cultures used in typical in vitro dishes do not survive for long periods. However, Lattice was specifically designed to provide a conducive environment for tissue cultures to thrive, allowing researchers to conduct longer-term studies. Scientists have already tested the system for up to 28 days and are optimistic that it can last even longer, providing valuable data and insights into diseases and their progression.
Lattice: Mimicking the Complexity of the Human Body
Investigating the Impact of Obesity on Endometrial Cancer
Obesity has been identified as a significant risk factor for endometrial cancer. With Lattice, researchers can finally study the long-term impact of risk factors like obesity on diseases. In the case of endometrial cancer, Lattice enables scientists to study how fat directly affects the endometrium over an extended period, allowing them to explore early changes in the cells that might contribute to the development of the disease.
EVATAR to Lattice: Making Medical Research Accessible and User-Friendly
Lattice is the next generation of technology that builds upon the success of its predecessor, EVATAR. Developed by Teresa Woodruff, a former Northwestern faculty member and co-author of the current study, EVATAR focused on creating a miniature female reproductive tract for testing drug safety and effectiveness in the female reproductive system. Lattice takes this concept further by studying a wide range of diseases in both men and women, providing a cheaper and easier-to-use alternative for researchers.
Julie Kim highlights the user-friendliness of Lattice, stating, “From EVATAR, we wanted to make something easy to use, so that engineers weren’t needed to assemble it or troubleshoot it. We wanted it to be as easy as using a smartphone: take it out of the box, turn it on and use it, so researchers can get data and not spend too much time working on it in their lab.”
Collaborative Success: Scientists Joining Forces
The development of Lattice was a collaborative effort involving scientists from various institutions, including the University of Illinois at Chicago, Rutgers University, and Michigan State University. This collaborative approach ensures a diverse array of expertise and perspectives, leading to innovative solutions and advancements in medical research.
Conclusion: Opening New Doors for Medical Research
The introduction of Lattice marks a significant breakthrough in medical research. With its ability to simulate multiple organs and conduct long-term studies, Lattice provides scientists with a powerful tool for understanding complex diseases, investigating the effects of various factors, and testing new drugs. By bridging the gap between animal testing and clinical trials, Lattice offers an additional layer of safety and reliability before introducing drugs into human bodies. With its user-friendly design and potential for widespread use, Lattice has the potential to unlock new doors in pharmaceutical and research fields.
Summary:
Scientists at Northwestern University have developed Lattice, a breakthrough technology capable of simulating any human disease and testing new drugs without entering or harming the body. Lattice allows for the study of interactions between up to eight single organ tissue cultures, providing a more realistic representation of how real organs respond compared to current in vitro systems. The objective of Lattice is to simulate what happens inside the body, enabling researchers to analyze the effects of factors such as obesity, gender differences in drug metabolism, and diseases that affect multiple organs. Lattice could serve as an intermediate step between animal testing and clinical trials, allowing researchers to test drugs on human tissues for safety and effectiveness. By providing a conducive environment for tissue cultures to thrive, Lattice allows for longer-term studies, providing valuable insights into diseases and the effects of risk factors. Lattice is the next generation of technology, building upon the success of EVATAR, and making medical research more accessible and user-friendly. It was developed through collaboration among scientists from various institutions, ensuring diverse expertise and perspectives for innovative solutions in medical research.
—————————————————-
| Article | Link |
|---|---|
| UK Artful Impressions | Premiere Etsy Store |
| Sponsored Content | View |
| 90’s Rock Band Review | View |
| Ted Lasso’s MacBook Guide | View |
| Nature’s Secret to More Energy | View |
| Ancient Recipe for Weight Loss | View |
| MacBook Air i3 vs i5 | View |
| You Need a VPN in 2023 – Liberty Shield | View |
Imagine a device smaller than a toddler’s shoebox that can simulate any human disease in multiple organs or test new drugs without ever entering (or harming) the body.
Scientists at Northwestern University have developed this new technology, called Lattice, to study interactions between up to eight single organ tissue cultures (cells from a human organ) over long periods of time to replicate how real organs will respond. This is an important advance with respect to current in vitro systems, which can only study two cell cultures simultaneously.
The objective is to simulate what happens inside the body to analyze, for example, how obesity could affect a certain disease; how women metabolize drugs differently than men; or what could initially be causing a disease that eventually affects multiple organs.
“When something happens in the body, we don’t know exactly who is talking to whom,” said lead scientist Julie Kim, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. “Currently, scientists use dishes that have one or two types of cells, and then do in-depth research and analysis, but Lattice is a breakthrough. This platform is much better suited to mimic what happens in the body, because it can simulate “so many organs at the same time.”
A study detailing the new technology will be published Oct. 3 in the journal. Lab on a chip.
Disease simulator choose your own adventure
The microfluidic device has a series of channels and pumps that cause medium (simulated blood) to flow between the eight wells. A computer connected to Lattice precisely controls how much medium flows through each well, where it flows, and when. Depending on what disease or drug the scientist wants to test, they can fill each well with a different organ tissue, hormone, disease, or drug.
For example, Kim’s lab is using Lattice to study polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), which is a condition characterized by an imbalance of reproductive hormones and metabolic problems. Scientists are still not sure why or how PCOS develops. Although it affects the ovaries, many other organ systems in the body are affected.
“What we can do with Lattice is start to manipulate and control which organ is causing the disease,” Kim said. “So in one experiment, we could start with an ovary with PCOS to see how it affects the liver or muscles. Another experiment could examine whether it is the high insulin associated with the disease that causes different organ systems to shut down. behave erratically. We can control the tissues and arrange them in specific ways.”
Foolproof control before clinical trials
The current method of testing new drugs begins in the laboratory in a dish (in vitro), then is tested in animal models, and then moves on to clinical trials in humans.
“There is nothing in between animal testing and human clinical trials, and we find that many drugs fail in humans,” Kim said. “Lattice could be that intermediate step between animal studies and clinical trials, because we can test drugs that have passed animal studies to see if they are safe for human tissues. It is one more fail-safe check before introducing them into the bodies”.
Lattice can test longer than other in vitro systems
Standard primary cell cultures in today’s in vitro dishes don’t survive very long, Kim said. But Lattice was designed to provide fresh media (simulated blood) to cultures and remove waste by pumping media through each of the eight wells so tissues survive longer. Scientists have tested the system for up to 28 days and expect to last longer, Kim said.
“For example, obesity is a major risk factor for endometrial cancer,” Kim said. “We could never study the impact of risk factors in a dish because they require long-term cultures. At Lattice, we can study how fat directly affects the endometrium over a longer period of time and study some early changes that occur in the cells.” endometrial.”
Easy to use for extensive research use
Lattice is the second-generation version of EVATAR, the creation of which was led by Teresa Woodruff, a former Northwestern faculty member and co-author of the current study. EVATAR is a miniature female reproductive tract that allows scientists to conduct much-needed testing of new drugs to determine their safety and effectiveness in the female reproductive system. Lattice was created to study many more diseases in both men and women. It is cheaper and easier to use, which Kim hopes will allow for widespread use in pharmaceutical and research fields.
“From EVATAR, we wanted to make something easy to use, so that engineers weren’t needed to assemble it or troubleshoot it,” Kim said. “We wanted it to be as easy as using a smartphone: take it out of the box, turn it on and use it, so researchers can get data and not spend too much time working on it in their lab.”
The study, “A Novel Tissue-Independent Microfluidic Device for Modeling Physiology and Disease: The Lattice Platform,” was conducted in collaboration with scientists at the University of Illinois at Chicago, Rutgers University, and Michigan State University. . Northwestern’s Hannes Campo, a postdoctoral fellow in Kim’s lab, is the study’s first author.
—————————————————-