November 10, 2025 – Research Triangle Park, NC
We’re excited to share that Xona Microfluidics will be presenting a joint poster with our collaborators at Merakris Therapeutics at the upcoming Society for Neuroscience (SfN) Annual Meeting in San Diego, California, on Tuesday, November 18, 2025.
Our poster, titled “In vitro model of microglia-activated tauopathy using human iPSC-derived neurons in compartmentalized microfluidic devices,” highlights how Xona’s microfluidic technology enables new insights into neuroinflammation and tauopathy—key processes involved in Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative conditions.
About the Study
Neuroinflammation, driven by activated microglia, is a hallmark of many tauopathies, including Alzheimer’s Disease, Frontotemporal Dementia, and ALS. To better understand these mechanisms in a human-relevant system, we used Xona’s compartmentalized microfluidic chips to co-culture human iPSC-derived neurons and microglia.
When we activated microglia using LPS, we observed a significant increase in tau1 puncta in neuronal axons—mimicking the pathological tau mislocalization seen in disease. Interestingly, when amniotic fluid (AF)—which is rich in growth factors and anti-inflammatory molecules—was added to the system, it rescued this tau mislocalization, restoring normal tau distribution.
These results suggest that our microfluidic co-culture platform provides a powerful way to study neuroinflammatory mechanisms and to test potential protective or therapeutic agents in a human-based model—supporting the broader move away from animal testing toward more predictive, in vitro systems.
Presentation Details
Poster Title: In vitro model of microglia-activated tauopathy using human iPSC-derived neurons in compartmentalized microfluidic devices
Authors: T. Nagendran¹, J. T. Gamble², R. Ilagan², A. M. Taylor¹
¹Xona Microfluidics, Inc., Research Triangle Park, NC; ²Merakris Therapeutics, Inc., Research Triangle Park, NC
Date: Tuesday morning, November 18, 2025
Presentation Number: LBP071.13
We look forward to connecting with colleagues and collaborators at SfN to discuss how human-based in vitro models can drive innovation in neuroscience research. Come visit our poster to learn more!
ABOUT XONA
Xona Microfluidics is a US company that makes compartmentalized microfluidic chambers for culturing neurons, and creates co-culture and innervation models in vitro. Xona’s technology is also used to model multi-cellular environments for organ-on-a-chip or microphysiological system applications.
Our patented compartmentalized chip technology directs the growth of axons from a somatodendritic compartment to an isolated axonal compartment allowing distinct microenvironments within each compartment to be established. Xona sells compartmentalized microfluidic chambers in two formats: Preassembled XonaChips® and original Silicone (PDMS) Devices. Over 1,000 publications cite our compartmentalized microfluidic devices and chips. Many of these publications can be found on our publications page.
Xona provides contract services in addition to product sales.
CONTACT US
To learn more about products and contract services provided by Xona, please contact us at info@xona.us.
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