A basement membrane-like matrix formed by cell-released proteins at the medium/air interface supports growth of keratinocytes

Measuring mechanodynamics in an unsupported epithelial monolayer grown at an air-water interface

A new method is presented for measuring the mechanodynamics of epithelial monolayers by culturing cells at an air–liquid interface. These model monolayers are grown in the absence of any supporting structures, removing cell–substrate effects.

Actomyosin contraction and relaxation in a monolayer is a fundamental biophysical process in development and homeostasis. Current methods used to characterize the mechanodynamics of monolayers often involve cells grown on solid supports such as glass or gels. The results of these studies are fundamentally influenced by these supporting structures. Here we describe a new method for measuring the mechanodynamics of epithelial monolayers by culturing cells at an air–liquid interface. These model monolayers are grown in the absence of any supporting structures, removing cell–substrate effects. This method’s potential was evaluated by observing and quantifying the generation and release of internal stresses upon actomyosin contraction (800 ± 100 Pa) and relaxation (600 ± 100 Pa) in response to chemical treatments. Although unsupported monolayers exhibited clear major and minor strain axes, they were not correlated with nuclear alignment as observed when the monolayers were grown on soft deformable gels. It was also observed that both gels and glass substrates led to the promotion of long-range cell nuclei alignment not seen in the hanging-drop model. This new approach provides us with a picture of basal actomyosin mechanodynamics in a simplified system, allowing us to infer how the presence of a substrate affects contractility and long-range multicellular organization and dynamics.

The role of p21cip1 in adaptation of CHO cells to suspension and protein-free culture

The up-regulation of cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p21 has been shown to enhance productivity of monoclonal antibodies and has been linked to various regulatory processes. To identify the potential role of p21 in adaptation to suspension and protein-free cultures, we studied the survival and growth of anchorage- and serum-dependent CHO cell lines that differed only in the period of p21-induced arrest. p21 overexpression led to rapid adaptation of cells to suspension and protein-free cultures. The period taken to achieve adaptation was correlated with the time the cells were arrested after transfer from the monolayer and serum-fed culture. Interestingly, cell aggregation associated with protein-free suspension culture was reduced in p21 culture in response to the loss of cellular adherence. The processes of adaptation to suspension and arrest did not decrease monoclonal antibody productivity. In contrast, following adaptation to protein-free growth media, an overall increase in specific productivity was observed. The ability of cells to survive in protein-free suspension cultures was due to the requirement of G1 cells to growth factors and to their relatively high resistance to the hydrodynamic forces. This improved process has the advantage of reducing the duration of critical path activity for developing CHO commercial cell lines from 72 to 36 days.

Skin basement membrane and extracellular matrix proteins characterization and quantification by real time RT-PCR

Three-dimensional gelatin-chondroitin 6 sulphate-hyanuronic acid (gelatin-C6S-HA) biomatrices were used as the scaffold to investigate the phenotypic and molecular expression of basement membrane (BM) and extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins in vitro. The cells were cultured in three different culture conditions: keratinocytes (K) monoculture, or dermal fibroblasts (FB) monoculture, or organotypic keratinocytes and dermal fibroblasts (K&FB) coculture model. The deposition of BM proteins and ECM proteins secreted by these two kinds of cells was quantitatively characterized by real time RT-PCR and examined by immunohistochemistry. The results showed that K expressed specific keratin and E-cadherin proteins, while type I collagen was secreted by FB. FB were shown to synthesize and deposit laminin 5, type IV collagen, and type VII collagen, whereas K dominantly produced integrin alpha 6 and integrin beta 4 as well as laminin 5. Interestingly, the integrin beta 4 was expressed neither in K monoculture nor in FB monoculture, but was seen in organotypic K&FB coculture model in the early culture stage. The histology studies revealed numerous features of epidermalization including a well organized basal layer of distinct cylindrical cells, granular and a horny layer, as well as complete BM formation. These results indicated that K and FB not only kept their phenotype when culturing on 3D scaffold, but also worked together to reconstruct dermal-epidermal basement membrane zone. In brief, our results directly provide the quantification in the expression of BM and ECM proteins by using real time RT-PCR in mRNA level and morphological appearance by immunostain in protein level.

Ultrastructural characterization of an artificial basement membrane produced by cultured keratinocytes

A recent study in our laboratories on the growth of keratinocytes at the culture medium/air interface has led to the identification of a novel thin sheet-like matrix that supports adherent cells. This novel matrix consists of components secreted by keratinocytes, including type IV collagen, and laminins 1 and 5, that self-assembled to a membrane structure. In the present study, a detailed ultrastructural characterization of this membrane was done with high-resolution electron microscopy after negative staining. The basic organization of the membrane was found to be a dense network of 8- to 10-nm-wide irregular rod-like elements. High-resolution examination and immunolabeling showed that type IV collagen filaments form the core of these elements, and other components including heparan sulfate proteoglycan in the form of 4.5- to 5-nm-wide ribbon-like "double tracks" are aggregated around it. These detailed features of the membrane strikingly resembled those of the basement membrane in vivo. These ultrastructural similarities indicate that the membrane may also have basement membrane-like functional properties, and suggest that it should be considered for testing in future medical applications.