内置免疫系统的微型“肺芯片”问世，能像真实器官一样主动防御病原体

Core Insights - The collaboration between Georgia Institute of Technology and Vanderbilt University has led to the development of the world's first micro "lung chip" with an integrated immune system, which can actively defend against pathogens and has the potential to revolutionize disease research and replace animal testing [1][3] Group 1: Technology and Innovation - The new lung chip is designed to simulate lung functions and includes a functional immune system, allowing it to realistically mimic the lung's response to infections, inflammation, and self-repair processes [3] - Previous attempts to integrate an immune system into organ chips faced technical challenges, such as the short lifespan of immune cells and difficulties in simulating their circulation and interaction within the body. The research team has optimized technology to achieve long-term survival and defense functionality of immune cells within the chip [3] Group 2: Research Applications - The lung chip has demonstrated immune responses similar to those in humans during experiments with influenza virus, showcasing its ability to accurately replicate real pathological processes [3] - This innovation opens new avenues for preclinical research, allowing for a deeper understanding of the interactions between immune responses and viral infections, as well as the evaluation of antiviral drug efficacy [3] Group 3: Future Prospects - The new lung chip can be utilized to study diseases such as asthma, cystic fibrosis, lung cancer, and tuberculosis. Future plans include integrating immune organs to simulate the collaboration between the lungs and the systemic immune system [4] - The long-term goal is to achieve personalized medicine by constructing chips using patients' own cells to predict the most effective treatment strategies [4]