'Liver on a chip' Replicates Variations in Liver Metabolism (IMAGE)

Massachusetts General Hospital

'Liver on a chip' Replicates Variations in Liver Metabolism

Caption

In this schematic of the new "liver on a chip" device, adding blood-sugar-raising glucagon to inlet 1 and blood-sugar-lowering insulin to inlet 2 distributes the hormones across the field of hepatocytes (purple box) along opposing gradients, altering the cells' metabolism from glucose release on the left side to glucose uptake on the right.

Credit

William McCarty, PhD, Massachusetts General Hospital Center for Engineering in Medicine

Usage Restrictions

Usage restricted to coverage of the paper described in this release.

License

Licensed content

Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.