The 3Rs Centre Utrecht: connecting the 3Rs and the NAMs
This animation of the 3Rs Centre Utrecht shows the differences, but also the similarities, between the 3Rs (Replacement, Reduction, Refinement of animal testing) approach and the NAMs (New Approach Methodologies) approach when trying to replace or reduce experimental animal use.
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Five simple tricks for making your own video for TPI.tv
This video shows you how to make a video yourself. It's really not that difficult! See also https://tpi.tv/how-to-submit for additional information.
Innovation examples
Innovation
Stem cell derived Vessels-on-Chip to study brain disorders
Dennis Nahon is a PhD candidate in the Department of Anatomy and Embryology at the Leiden University Medical Center. In his research, under supervision of Dr. Valeria Orlova (https://www.orlovalab.com/) and Prof. Dr. Christine Mummery, he aims to mimic a blood vessel in the brain by combining different stem cell derived cell types, in a 3D Vessel-on-Chip model. Here, an example of these in vitro blood vessels is shown in which certain brain cells known as astrocytes (in white) interact with the blood vessels (in red). This model paves the way for investigating brain vessels outside the human body, while reducing the need for animal models.
Innovation examples
Innovation
From 2D hiPSC culture to developing a 3D vessel-on-chip
Theano Tsikari is a 2nd year PhD student at the Orlova group at LUMC. As part of the LymphChip consortium, her project focuses on the development of immunocompetent organ-on-chip models of the cardiovascular system, and especially the integration of tissue-resident macrophages and lymphatic vasculature using human induced pluripotent stem cells. In this video, you can follow her as she presents you the backbone of her project, a 3D hiPSC-derived vessel-on-chip model, that has been previously developed in the Orlova group and can be employed for the generation of advanced in vitro models of vascular diseases.
Innovation examples
Innovation
Unified organoid system for modeling heart and kidney interaction on-a-chip
Beatrice Gabbin is a PhD candidate at the Anatomy and Embryology Department of the Leiden University Medical Center. Her project is shared with the Nephrology Department and focusses on the study of the cardiorenal axis in vitro. Both heart and kidneys have vital functions in the human body and reciprocally influence each other’s behavior: pathological changes in one can damage the other. There are already multiple independent in vitro (human) models of heart and kidney, but none have so far captured their dynamic crosstalk. The aim of the project is therefore to develop a microfluidic system which can be used to study heart and kidney interaction in vitro. For this purpose, cardiac microtissues and kidney organoids derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells are generated and loaded onto a 3D perfusion chip for their dynamic co-culture. This system enables the study the cardiac and kidney interaction with a high level of control. The validation of a unified organoid system will enable the investigation of diseases involving the two organs and their potential treatments. Read more via the link in the video and https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mtbio.2023.100818.