Lung on Chip with Air-Liquid Interface for Studying Air Pollution and Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a progressive fibrotic lung condition. The etiology of IPF remains unknown, but some research suggests that air pollution is one of the main factors contributing to its development. Traditionally, researchers typically use culture dishes to conduct related research, which cannot simulate the actual situation in the lung. Therefore, we aim to construct an alveolar microenvironment model to investigate the possible role of the air pollutant in IPF. We proposed a surface modification method to establish an air-liquid interface (ALI) on an in-vitro microfluidic chip, coupled with a stretching device to simulate the environment of alveoli during respiration. This method doesn’t require long-term biological methods or complicated systems, making it more practical. In this study, we use diesel exhaust particles (DEP) to simulate air pollutants.Experimental results indicated the proposed design and methods successfully created ALI in the chip. Furthermore, Wi38 cells co-cultured with A549 cells in polluted medium showed a better growth rate compared to those in fresh medium. These results suggest that air pollution may be related to pulmonary fibrosis, as it can stimulate the proliferation of Wi38 cells, leading to tissue thickening and the formation of pulmonary fibrosis.