Fig. 12: Microfluidic system mimicking human lymphatic microvasculature for physio-/pathological transport studies.

a Schematic of the microfluidic device with the corresponding channels labeled. b Cross-section view of the microfluidic device used by the authors. Confocal reconstruction of a lymphatic monolayer seeded in the medium channel with podoplanin staining of the cell membrane and DAPI staining of nuclei. Scale bar = 100 μm. c Schematic showing the in vivo scenario recapitulated in the MPS model. During an inflammatory response, chemotactic signaling axes recruited immune cells via concentration gradients of the respective chemokines. d Schematic representation of the interstitial flow setup, where a hydrostatic pressure difference (ΔP) drove interstitial flow across the gel matrix compartment. e Quantitative analysis of PBMCs infiltrated via engineered high-flow lymphatics stimulated with TNF-α and under corresponding conditions of PBMCs reconstituted with neutralizing antibodies or IgG isotypes. f Quantitative analysis of cytokine secretion from cells in lymphatics established with interstitial flow and one experimental group preconditioned with TNF-α. Adapted from Serrano et al.⁹⁰