Hepatocyte cocultures with endothelial cells and fibroblasts on micropatterned fibrous mats to promote liver-specific functions and capillary formation capabilities

Transcriptome profiling reveals differential expression of interferon family induced by dengue virus 2 in human endothelial cells on tissue culture plastic and polyacrylamide hydrogel

A cell model is critical for studying the molecular mechanisms of dengue virus 2 (DENV-2) invasions and cell bioactivity can be easily affected by the substrate matrix. Tissue culture plastic (TCP) and polyacrylamide hydrogel (PAMH) are two kinds of matrices widely used for cells. The effects of different matrices on the cultured cells with DENV-2 invasion remain unknown. To address the issue, the effects of TCP and PAMH were explored in primary human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) with DENV-2 invasion. HUVECs were assigned into four groups: group A (cultured on TCP), group B (cultured on PAMH), group C (cultured on TCP with DENV-2 invasion), and group D (cultured on PAMH with DENV-2 invasion). Flow cytometry was performed on HUVECs after 48-hr culture. Gene expression patterns were analyzed by gene microarray. The levels of interleukin-29 (IL-29) were measured by real-time qRT-PCR and ELISA. There were no cell apoptosis induced by DENV-2 in HUVECs cultured on TCP and PAMH (P > 0.05). After DENV-2 invasion, the up-regulated genes involve in the activities of oligoadenylate synthetase (OAS), interferon-related cytokine, and growth factors so on. The up-regulated pathways involve in the responses to DENV-2 and innate immunity. IL-29 was induced in the HUVECs on PAMH when compared with the cells on TCP (P < 0.05). Thus, different matrices cause different immune responses, which should be considered in the cell models for exploring the molecular mechanisms of DENV-induced diseases.

Tunable release of chemotherapeutic and vascular disrupting agents from injectable fiber fragments potentiates combination chemotherapy

Cancer progression and metastasis relies much on vasculature networks in tumor microenvironment, and the combination treatment with chemotherapeutic drugs and vascular disrupting agents represents apparent clinical benefits. In the current study, fiber fragments with loadings of hydroxycamptothecin (HCPT) or combretastatin A-4 (CA4) were proposed for tumor inhibition and blood vessel disruption after local administration in tumors. To address challenges in balancing the disruption of tumor vessels and intratumoral uptake of chemotherapeutic agents, this study is focus on release tuning of HCPT and CA4 from the fiber fragment mixtures. Hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HPCD) was blended at ratios from 0 to 10% into CA4-loaded fiber fragments (Fc) to modulate CA4 release durations from 0.5 to 24days, and HCPT-loaded fiber fragments (Fh) indicated a sustained release for over 35days. In vitro cytotoxicity tests indicated a sequential inhibition on the endothelial and tumor cell growth, and the growth inhibition of tumor cells was more significant after treatment with mixtures of Fh and Fc containing 2% HPCD (Fc2) than that of other mixtures. In an orthotopic breast tumor model, compared with those of free CA4, or Fc with a fast or slow release of CA4, Fh/Fc mixtures with CA4 release durations from 2 to 12days indicated a lower tumor growth rate, a prolonged animal survival, a lower vessel density in tumors, and a less significant tumor metastasis. In addition, the tumor cell proliferation rate, hypoxia-inducible factor-1α expression within tumors, and the number of surface metastatic nodules in lungs were significantly lower after treatment with Fh/Fc2 mixtures with a CA4 release duration of 5days than those of other mixtures. It demonstrates the advantages of fiber fragment mixtures in independently modulating the release of multiple drugs and the essential role of release tuning of chemotherapeutic drugs and vascular disrupting agents in improving the therapeutic efficacy.

Micropatterned coculture of hepatocytes on electrospun fibers as a potential in vitro model for predictive drug metabolism

The liver is the major organ of importance to determine drug dispositions in the body, thus the development of hepatocyte culture systems is of great scientific and practical interests to provide reliable and predictable models for in vitro drug screening. In the current study, to address the challenges of a rapid function loss of primary hepatocytes, the coculture of hepatocytes with fibroblasts and endothelial cells (Hep-Fib-EC) was established on micropatterned fibrous scaffolds. Liver-specific functions, such as the albumin secretion and urea synthesis, were well maintained in the coculture system, accompanied by a rapid formation of multicellular hepatocyte spheroids. The activities of phase I (CYP3A11 and CYP2C9) and phase II enzymes indicated a gradual increase for cocultured hepatocytes, and a maximum level was achieved after 5 days and maintained throughout 15 days of culture. The metabolism testing on model drugs indicated that the scaled clearance rates for hepatocytes in the Hep-Fib-EC coculture system were significantly higher than those of other culture methods, and a linear regression analysis indicated good correlations between the observed data of rats and in vitro predicted values during 15 days of culture. In addition, the enzyme activities and drug clearance rates of hepatocytes in the Hep-Fib-EC coculture model experienced sensitive responsiveness to the inducers and inhibitors of metabolizing enzymes. These results demonstrated the feasibility of micropatterned coculture of hepatocytes as a potential in vitro testing model for the prediction of in vivo drug metabolism.

Spheroid culture of primary hepatocytes with short fibers as a predictable in vitro model for drug screening

Short fibers are utilized as scaffolds for generation of size-controlled hepatocyte spheroids, exhibiting an efficient in vitro model for determining drug metabolism.

Thermo-responsive polymer aided spheroid culture in cryogel based platform for high throughput drug screening

A versatile and widely applicable cryogel-based high throughput platform for spheroid culture in the presence of a thermo-responsive polymer and drug screening.

Acetaminophen cytotoxicity is ameliorated in a human liver organotypic co-culture model

Organotypic liver culture models for hepatotoxicity studies that mimic in vivo hepatic functionality could help facilitate improved strategies for early safety risk assessment during drug development. Interspecies differences in drug sensitivity and mechanistic profiles, low predictive capacity, and limitations of conventional monocultures of human hepatocytes, with high attrition rates remain major challenges. Herein, we show stable, cell-type specific phenotype/cellular polarity with differentiated functionality in human hepatocyte-like C3A cells (enhanced CYP3A4 activity/albumin synthesis) when in co-culture with human vascular endothelial cells (HUVECs), thus demonstrating biocompatibility and relevance for evaluating drug metabolism and toxicity. In agreement with in vivo studies, acetaminophen (APAP) toxicity was most profound in HUVEC mono-cultures; whilst in C3A:HUVEC co-culture, cells were less susceptible to the toxic effects of APAP, including parameters of oxidative stress and ATP depletion, altered redox homeostasis, and impaired respiration. This resistance to APAP is also observed in a primary human hepatocyte (PHH) based co-culture model, suggesting bidirectional communication/stabilization between different cell types. This simple and easy-to-implement human co-culture model may represent a sustainable and physiologically-relevant alternative cell system to PHHs, complementary to animal testing, for initial hepatotoxicity screening or mechanistic studies of candidate compounds differentially targeting hepatocytes and endothelial cells.

Hepatocyte spheroid culture on fibrous scaffolds with grafted functional ligands as an in vitro model for predicting drug metabolism and hepatotoxicity

The identification of a biologic substrate for maintaining hepatocyte functions is essential to provide reliable and predictable models for in vitro drug screening. In the current study, a three-dimensional culture of hepatocytes was established on highly porous fibrous scaffolds with grafted galactose and RGD to afford extensive cell-cell and cell-scaffold interactions spatially. The pore size and ligand densities indicated significant effects on the formation of hepatocyte spheroids in balancing the cell retention, adhesion, and migration on fibrous scaffolds. Fibrous scaffolds with an average pore size of 60 μm and surface grafting densities of galactose at 5.9 nmol/cm(2) and RGD at 6.9 pmol/cm(2) provided optimal microenvironments for hepatocyte infiltration and multicellular spheroid formation. Significant promotions were also demonstrated in the syntheses of albumin and urea and the activities of phase I (CYP 3A11 and CYP 2C9) and phase II enzymes. The in vitro metabolism tests on testosterone and acetaminophen by hepatocytes on the optimal scaffolds indicated the predicated clearance rates of 50.7 and 22.6 ml/min/kg, respectively, which were comparable to the in vivo values of rats. The in vitro hepatotoxicity tests on amiodarone hydrochloride and acetaminophen predicted the half maximal effective concentrations (EC50) to reflect the in vivo toxic plasma concentrations in human. In addition, the enzyme activities, predicted clearance rates and hepatotoxicity values of hepatocytes on the optimal scaffolds experienced sensitive responsiveness to specific inducers or inhibitors of CYP 3A11 and phase II enzymes, exhibiting in vivo-in vitro correlations to a certain extent. These results demonstrate the feasibility of hepatocyte spheroid culture on fibrous scaffolds as an potential in vitro testing model to predict the in vivo drug metabolism, hepatotoxicity, and drug-drug interactions.

Biotunable acoustic node assembly of organoids

Bioengineering of 3D microtissues from cell spheroids is demonstrated by employing the vibration of acoustic standing waves and its hydrodynamic effect at the bottom of a liquid-carrier chamber. A large number of cell spheroids (>10(4) ) are assembled in seconds into a closely packed structure in a scaffold-free fashion under nodal pattern of the standing waves in a fluidic environment.

The application of engineered liver tissues for novel drug discovery

INTRODUCTION

Drug-induced liver injury remains a major cause of drug attrition. Furthermore, novel drugs are being developed for treating liver diseases. However, differences between animals and humans in liver pathways necessitate the use of human-relevant liver models to complement live animal testing during preclinical drug development. Microfabrication tools and synthetic biomaterials now allow for the creation of tissue subunits that display more physiologically relevant and long-term liver functions than possible with declining monolayers.

AREAS COVERED

The authors discuss acellular enzyme platforms, two-dimensional micropatterned co-cultures, three-dimensional spheroidal cultures, microfluidic perfusion, liver slices and humanized rodent models. They also present the use of cell lines, primary liver cells and induced pluripotent stem cell-derived human hepatocyte-like cells in the creation of cell-based models and discuss in silico approaches that allow integration and modeling of the datasets from these models. Finally, the authors describe the application of liver models for the discovery of novel therapeutics for liver diseases.

EXPERT OPINION

Engineered liver models with varying levels of in vivo-like complexities provide investigators with the opportunity to develop assays with sufficient complexity and required throughput. Control over cell-cell interactions and co-culture with stromal cells in both two dimension and three dimension are critical for enabling stable liver models. The validation of liver models with diverse sets of compounds for different applications, coupled with an analysis of cost:benefit ratio, is important for model adoption for routine screening. Ultimately, engineered liver models could significantly reduce drug development costs and enable the development of more efficacious and safer therapeutics for liver diseases.

Microengineered liver tissues for drug testing

Drug-induced liver injury (DILI) is a leading cause of drug attrition. Significant and well-documented differences between animals and humans in liver pathways now necessitate the use of human-relevant in vitro liver models for testing new chemical entities during preclinical drug development. Consequently, several human liver models with various levels of in vivo-like complexity have been developed for assessment of drug metabolism, toxicity, and efficacy on liver diseases. Recent trends leverage engineering tools, such as those adapted from the semiconductor industry, to enable precise control over the microenvironment of liver cells and to allow for miniaturization into formats amenable for higher throughput drug screening. Integration of liver models into organs-on-a-chip devices, permitting crosstalk between tissue types, is actively being pursued to obtain a systems-level understanding of drug effects. Here, we review the major trends, challenges, and opportunities associated with development and implementation of engineered liver models created from primary cells, cell lines, and stem cell-derived hepatocyte-like cells. We also present key applications where such models are currently making an impact and highlight areas for improvement. In the future, engineered liver models will prove useful for selecting drugs that are efficacious, safer, and, in some cases, personalized for specific patient populations.

High throughput and multiplex localization of proteins and cells for in situ micropatterning using pneumatic microfluidics

We present a micropatterning method for protein/cell localization by using pneumatically controllable microstructures in an integrated microfluidic device.