Gut–liver on a chip toward an in vitro model of hepatic steatosis

Hepatic steatosis is a process of abnormal lipid deposition within the liver cells, often caused by excessive alcohol uptake or obesity. A conventional in vitro model for hepatic steatosis uses a liver cell culture, treated with fatty acids and measures accumulation of lipids within the cells. This model does not recapitulate the complex process of absorption and metabolism of digestive lipids. Here, we introduce a gut-liver chip, which mimics the gut absorption and hepatic metabolism in a microfluidic chip. Absorption of fatty acids through gut layer and subsequent deposition within liver cells was demonstrated. Tumor necrosis factor-α, butyrate, and α-lipoic acid were chosen as model molecules that can affect hepatic steatosis via different mechanisms, and their effects were evaluated. Our results suggest that the gut-liver chip can mimic the absorption and accumulation of fatty acids in the gut and the liver.