Development of a functional organ-on-a-chip of human vascular aging

With increasing age, the risk of cardiovascular disease such as stroke and heart attack, increases in humans due to structural and mechanical changes within the cardiovascular system. This is due to many factors that occur in advanced age, such as increased arterial stiffness and intra-plaque and medial arterial calcification. Other diseases such as diabetes and hypo- or hypertension also increase the risk of developing arterial problems. Medial calcification is driven by the aging process, as well as diseases such as diabetes and chronic kidney disease.

During medial calcification smooth muscle cells (SMCs) within the medial layer of the arterial wall undergo processes similar to bone formation, due to continuous calcium phosphate diffusion. With increasing age or due to diseases the inhibitors that avoid an accumulation of those minerals within the blood vessels, become less effective and functional. This then causes phenotypical changes within vascular SMCs (VSCMs) to osteocytic and osteoblastic type cells. However, the exact morphologies are mostly still unknown. The development of an organ-on-a-chip (OOC) model could help to further the understanding of the changes that the cells undergo, as it would provide a functional and easily manipulated in vitro system of medial calcification. Furthermore, it could also provide a possibility to be used as a model for other cardiovascular research interests.