'Vagina on a Chip': Silicone-carved Chip Lined in Human Tissue Could Help in Drug Treatments for Vagina Bacterial Infection

The use of human tissue on silicone chips has been a significant development in the field of drug testing. Dr. Don Ingber, a bioengineer at Harvard, has been using flexible pieces of silicone to create 3D models of organs. These models are lined with human tissue, allowing researchers to test drug treatments on them. In a paper published last month, Dr. Ingber described how he has created a model of the vagina using this technique.

This could help scientists test treatments for bacterial infections in the vagina, which is an area that has been understudied. This approach allows researchers to test treatments in a more realistic environment, rather than relying on animal models or cell cultures. The development of the Vagina Chip is an important step in the study of the vaginal microbiome and its role in health and disease. The vaginal microbiome is a complex community of microorganisms that plays a vital role in maintaining the health of the vagina.

Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is the most common vaginal condition among women of reproductive age and is caused by a disruption of the vaginal microbiome. BV can expand the hazard of sexually transmitted illnesses and pre-term labor in incubation. While it can be treated with antibiotics, it often recurs, leading to severe complications. The Vagina Chip will allow scientists to study the vaginal microbiome and develop new therapeutic tools for treating BV and other conditions.

Vital Part in Vaginal Health

The human vaginal microbiome is complex and plays a crucial role in maintaining the health of the vagina. Lactobacillus species are the most common bacteria found in the healthy vagina, comprising about 70% of the microbiome. A disruption of the microbiome can lead to disease. However, this area of research has been understudied due to the lack of suitable preclinical models that can replicate the vaginal epithelial microenvironment.

This has made it difficult for researchers to study the vaginal microbiome and develop new therapies. The recent development of the Vagina Chip, which uses human tissue on silicon chips to create a 3D model of the vagina, could help address this issue and allow for more research in this area.

Scientists at the Wyss Institute from Harvard University have invented the technology. The vitro model will replicate the functional vaginal epithelium and could be used to study and develop new therapies for bacterial vaginosis (BV), a common vaginal condition that affects women of reproductive age. The lack of suitable preclinical models has been a major obstacle in research on BV, but the Vagina Chip, which uses human tissue on silicone chips, could help overcome this issue. In a statement, co-author Aakanksha Gulati said that the Vagina Chip could be used to study which therapies are effective in treating BV in human tissue.

The development of the Vagina Chip involved seeding a polymer chip with human vaginal epithelial cells on one side and human uterine fibroblast cells on the other. This created a 3D structure resembling the human vaginal wall. After five days, numerous coatings of differentiated human vaginal partitions were assembled. Contemplations of this technology have indicated promising developments. For instance, when estrogen was introduced, the cells on the chip responded, indicating sensitivity to hormones.

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Bacterial vaginosis is an understudied condition, one of the reasons due to lack of preclinical models.

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Disease Associated With Bacterial Vaginosis

In further tests, the team introduced different types of bacteria onto the chip. When beneficial bacteria like Lactobacillus crispatus were grown on the chips, the epithelial cells remained healthy and produced fewer proinflammatory molecules, supporting the theory that these microbes help maintain a healthy human vagina.

On the other hand, when harmful bacteria such as Gardnerella vaginalis, which is associated with bacterial vaginosis (BV), were introduced, the epithelial cells were damaged, proinflammatory cytokine levels increased, and the pH increased. This type of reaction is often seen in the human vagina when there are pathological changes in the microbiome, as reported by IFL Science.

It was very special that the further microbial species built such opposing effects on the human vaginal cells, and the scientists were able to monitor and calculate those effects quite easily using the Vagina Chip, enunciated co-author Abidemi Junaid. The sensation of these studies indicates that this model can be utilized to test different varieties of microbes to help recognize the best probiotic therapies for BV and other illnesses.

While more work needs to be done, the potential of this technology is promising and it could shed more light on the interaction between vaginal epithelium and the microbiome, as well as test new therapies. The analysis was reported in the journal Microbiome.