Functional microvascular networks provide insight into physiological drug response.

The development of physiologically relevant in vitro systems for simulating disease onset, progression and predicting drug metabolism holds tremendous value in reducing drug discovery time and cost. However, many of these platforms lack accuracy in replicating tissue architecture and multicellular interactions. To combat these shortcomings, a systematic approach to investigating the initial seeding density of endothelial cells and its effects on interconnected networks was taken and combined with hepatic spheroids to form a liver-on-a-chip model, providing insight into potential hepatotoxicity and vascular dysfunction caused by various drugs in a high throughput manner.