• We offer tailored partnerships to support and transform drug discovery.

    Every collaboration is a bespoke arrangement, meticulously designed to discover new compounds and targets in patient relevant disease models.

  • MIMETAS offers flexible fee-for-service solutions for therapy prioritization, optimization, and de-risking of compounds.

    As an extension of your team, MIMETAS provides the expertise and resources needed for effective research and development.

  • Our OrganoReady program is made for you when you need optimized assays for investigational toxicology.

    We guarantee OrganoReady performance according to specifications, in a fast and convenient sales transaction with a clear fee structure.

  • Giving you some food for thought. Read our blogs to learn more about 3D tissue culture, research backgrounds, developments, and its future outlook.
  • Get inspired by research done by our scientists, partners, and customers around the globe.

  • Learn about our mission, vision, the history of the company, and find out what we mean with MIMETAS-do.
open menu icon close menu icon
EN

A Novel Human Distal Tubuloid-on-a-Chip Model for Investigating Sodium and Water Transport Mechanisms

Leiden, October 1, 2025 – A team of international researchers, including scientists from Medical Center Utrecht and Radboud Institute for Medical Innovation, in close collaboration with MIMETAS., developed a kidney-on-a-chip model that replicates the complex functions of the human distal nephron.

A key aspect of this research was the development of a new iPSC-differentiation protocol to generate brain endothelial cells (iCE-BECs). These cells closely mimic the blood–brain barrier (BBB), showing strong barrier properties, expression of brain-specific markers without epithelial ones, and supporting receptor-mediated transcytosis. This advancement makes them particularly well-suited for investigating how genetic risk factors affect brain endothelial cell function.

The study further leveraged Roche’s BrainShuttle technology, enabling precise evaluation of molecular transport across the BBB. The combined expertise allowed the research team to not only model disease-relevant mechanisms, but also explore potential therapeutic delivery pathways.

Using iPSC lines engineered to carry either the ApoE3 or ApoE4 genotype, the researchers discovered that ApoE4 alters the structure and function of early endosomes—key components of the intracellular transport system. Specifically, ApoE4 was associated with enlarged, less acidic endosomes and reduced sorting capacity. In addition, ApoE4 cells exhibited reduced intracellular iron levels, which triggered upregulation of the transferrin receptor (TfR1). Despite this increase, the rate of transferrin transport remained unchanged, indicating a disconnect between receptor expression and functional transport.

Together, these findings highlight MIMETAS’ contribution in advancing physiologically relevant human BBB models and Roche’s technology in enabling mechanistic studies of transcytosis. The study provides new insights into the cell-autonomous effects of ApoE4 at the BBB and emphasizes how genetic risk factors can subtly alter brain endothelial function—potentially influencing therapeutic delivery to the brain.


Read the Publication

Cookies

May we use cookies?
Hi there! Thanks for visiting our website. We use cookies to keep track of our website statistics to optimize the user experience. We also use cookies for marketing purposes. You can set your preferences by selecting the options below. Terms of Use & Privacy Policy
Accept all
Accept selected
Decline all