Organs-on-a-chip (OoC) is a microengineered three-dimensional cell culture system developed for decades. Utilizing microfluidic technology, OoC cultivates cells on perfusable channels to construct in vitro organ models, enabling the simulation of organ-level functions under physiological and pathophysiological conditions. The superior simulation capabilities compared to traditional animal experiments and two-dimensional cell cultures, making OoC a valuable tool for in vitro research. Recently, the application of OoC has extended to the field of nephrology, where it replicates various functional units, including glomerulus-on-a-chip, proximal tubule-on-a-chip, distal tubule-on-a-chip, collecting duct-on-a-chip, and even the entire nephron-on-a-chip to precisely emulate the structure and function of nephrons. Moreover, researchers have integrated kidney models into multi-organ systems, establishing human body-on-a-chip platforms. In this review, the diverse functional kidney units-on-a-chip and their versatile applications are outlined, such as drug nephrotoxicity screening, renal development studies, and investigations into the pathophysiological mechanisms of kidney diseases. The inherent advantages and current limitations of these OoC models are also examined. Finally, the synergy of kidney-on-a-chip with other emerging biomedical technologies are explored, such as bioengineered kidney and bioprinting, and a new insight for chip-based renal replacement therapy in the future are prospected.

中文翻译：

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肾脏病学研究的革命性变革：通过肾脏芯片及其他技术拓展视野

器官芯片（OoC）是一种经过数十年开发的微工程三维细胞培养系统。利用微流控技术，OoC 在可灌注通道上培养细胞，构建体外器官模型，能够模拟生理和病理生理条件下的器官水平功能。与传统动物实验和二维细胞培养相比，OoC 具有优越的模拟能力，使其成为有价值的工具体外研究。最近，OoC的应用已扩展到肾脏病学领域，它复制了各种功能单元，包括肾小球芯片、近端小管芯片、远端小管芯片、集合管芯片上，甚至整个肾单位芯片上，以精确模拟肾单位的结构和功能。此外，研究人员还将肾脏模型集成到多器官系统中，建立了人体芯片平台。在这篇综述中，概述了多种功能性肾脏芯片单元及其多功能应用，例如药物肾毒性筛选、肾脏发育研究以及肾脏疾病病理生理机制的研究。还研究了这些 OoC 模型的固有优势和当前局限性。最后，探讨了芯片肾脏与生物工程肾脏和生物打印等其他新兴生物医学技术的协同作用，并对未来基于芯片的肾脏替代治疗提出了新的见解。