Martina Cicolini
Development of a microfluidic alveolus-on-chip supporting epithelial- endothelial cells co-culture and air-liquid interface implementation for the modelling of the physiological alveolar-capillary barrier.
Rel. Matteo Cocuzza, Gianluca Ciardelli. Politecnico di Torino, Master of science program in Biomedical Engineering, 2022
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Abstract
The respiratory system, being the largest interface with the external environment, is constantly exposed to harmful substances reaching the lungs by inhalation, other than via the blood stream. The alveolar-capillary barrier, that constitutes the functional interface between air and blood and mediates the gas exchange in the lung, plays a fundamental role in the defence against pathogens and xenobiotics. Diseases associated with alveolar-capillary barrier dysfunction include asthma, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by the RNA virus SARS-CoV-2: studying the role of alveolar-capillary barrier in pulmonary homeostasis may help to understand the pathophysiology of diseases and to discover new therapeutic targets.
In this respect, in vitro models are useful alternatives to animal models, that present limiting species-specific differences in organogenesis, tissue organization and susceptibility to diseases, to study the mechanisms underlying the functions of a tissue and to develop personalized treatments for different pathological conditions
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