Human on a chip can replace animal testing

LIVERMORE — Lab rats might become a thing of the past and the scientist at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory are hoping to be a part of that.

Scientists have been developing a microchip that is a miniature replication of the human body, in a project called iCHIP (in-vitro Chip-based Investigational Platform) for the past three years, that can reduce the killing of over 100 million animals in laboratories every year according to People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).

The scientists takes human cells or tissues and puts them on microchips and test them out with various drugs and toxins. They can then predict the reaction it will have on the human body, which can also help speed up the development of medical countermeasures.

“Animal testing can be more complicated and costly, where as these chips can be much more reliable” said Kris Kulp, lab scientist who is part of the project.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has stated that nine out of 10 drugs that pass animal tests fail in humans because they don’t work or are dangerous. With this acknowledgement, various agencies, like the Environmental Protection Agency and National Institutes of Health have made efforts to reduce the use of animal testing.

Recently President Barack Obama signed a reform of the Toxic Substances Control Act that states the reduction of animal testing.

“We are familiar with this new direction that science is taking and we’re very excited about the possibility that it can replace animals in chemical testing, drug development,” said Kathy Guillermo, vice president of laboratory investigation at PETA

Though the estimated costs of using animals versus using an alternative would vary depending on the exact sort of testing and the exact alternative said Dr. Alka Chandna, senior laboratory oversight specialist at PETA.

At Lawrence, the $2 million yearly project is funded by the Laboratory Directed Research and Development said Elizabeth Wheeler, principal investigator of the project.

While other labs and university researchers are testing out different organs of the body, at Lawrence, they are testing four specific vital body functions: the central nervous system, peripheral nervous system, the blood-brain barrier and the heart.

Though the project is mainly focusing its efforts on the brain, looking into how neurons interact with chemical stimuli such as caffeine, atropine, capsaicin and real chemical agents.

The lab gets most of the chemicals and toxins on site in the Lab’s Forensics Science Center. The FSC is also one of the two labs in the nation to be internationally for certified for identifying chemical warfare agents. Chemical warfare agents have been used on human on chips in 2013 by the United States Army .

The army’s scientists tested out chemical warfare agents to learn more about how the body will respond to agent exposure and explore various treatment options for exposures.

Though Wheeler said they have no plans or legality to produce chemical warfare agents and test them out for their projects.

But in the future, Wheeler does hopes to work with other scientists and re-create a human body.

“We hope to integrate them all together and re-create the human body and the reactions it has to link multiple chips to capture interactions between different organs,” Wheeler said.

Follow Patricia Torres at Twitter.com/ptorres0221