Fig. 1

Evaluating the effects of air pollutants on human respiratory mucosa using organ-on-a-chip. The proposed pathway for screening for the effects of air pollutants on the human respiratory mucosa in shown. The respiratory mucosa-on-a-chip consists of three component layers: human nasal epithelial cells (hNEC), fibroblasts, and endothelial cells. Once the hNEC were exposed to the UPM, cell junctions were disrupted because of alterations in gene expression. Subsequently, it induced endothelial cell pro-inflammatory responses, thereby disrupting endothelial junction proteins