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Mazio C, Scognamiglio LS, Passariello R, Panzetta V, Casale C, Urciuolo F, Galietta LJV, Imparato G, Netti PA. Easy-to-Build and Reusable Microfluidic Device for the Dynamic Culture of Human Bronchial Cystic Fibrosis Epithelia. ACS Biomater Sci Eng 2023; 9:2780-2792. [PMID: 37019688 PMCID: PMC10170479 DOI: 10.1021/acsbiomaterials.2c01460] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/07/2023]
Abstract
Cystic fibrosis (CF) is one of the most frequent genetic diseases, caused by dysfunction of the CF transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) chloride channel. CF particularly affects the epithelium of the respiratory system. Therapies aim at rescuing CFTR defects in the epithelium, but CF genetic heterogeneity hinders the finding of a single and generally effective treatment. Therefore, in vitro models have been developed to study CF and guide patient therapy. Here, we show a CF model on-chip by coupling the feasibility of the human bronchial epithelium differentiated in vitro at the air-liquid interface and the innovation of microfluidics. We demonstrate that the dynamic flow enhanced cilia distribution and increased mucus quantity, thus promoting tissue differentiation in a short time. The microfluidic devices highlighted differences between CF and non-CF epithelia, as shown by electrophysiological measures, mucus quantity, viscosity, and the analysis of ciliary beat frequency. The described model on-chip may be a handy instrument for studying CF and setting up therapies. As a proof of principle, we administrated the corrector VX-809 on-chip and observed a decrease in mucus thickness and viscosity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudia Mazio
- Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT)─Center for Advanced Biomaterials for Healthcare, Largo Barsanti e Matteucci 53, 80125 Napoli, Italy
| | - Laura S Scognamiglio
- Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT)─Center for Advanced Biomaterials for Healthcare, Largo Barsanti e Matteucci 53, 80125 Napoli, Italy
| | - Roberta Passariello
- Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT)─Center for Advanced Biomaterials for Healthcare, Largo Barsanti e Matteucci 53, 80125 Napoli, Italy
- Department of Chemical, Materials and Industrial Production Engineering (DICMAPI), University of Naples Federico II, P.le Tecchio 80, 80125 Naples, Italy
| | - Valeria Panzetta
- Department of Chemical, Materials and Industrial Production Engineering (DICMAPI), University of Naples Federico II, P.le Tecchio 80, 80125 Naples, Italy
- Interdisciplinary Research Centre on Biomaterials (CRIB), University of Napoli Federico II, P.le Tecchio 80, 80125 Napoli, Italy
| | - Costantino Casale
- Interdisciplinary Research Centre on Biomaterials (CRIB), University of Napoli Federico II, P.le Tecchio 80, 80125 Napoli, Italy
| | - Francesco Urciuolo
- Department of Chemical, Materials and Industrial Production Engineering (DICMAPI), University of Naples Federico II, P.le Tecchio 80, 80125 Naples, Italy
- Interdisciplinary Research Centre on Biomaterials (CRIB), University of Napoli Federico II, P.le Tecchio 80, 80125 Napoli, Italy
| | - Luis J V Galietta
- Telethon Institute of Genetics and Medicine (TIGEM), Via Campi Flegrei 34, 80078 Pozzuoli (NA), Italy
| | - Giorgia Imparato
- Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT)─Center for Advanced Biomaterials for Healthcare, Largo Barsanti e Matteucci 53, 80125 Napoli, Italy
| | - Paolo A Netti
- Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT)─Center for Advanced Biomaterials for Healthcare, Largo Barsanti e Matteucci 53, 80125 Napoli, Italy
- Department of Chemical, Materials and Industrial Production Engineering (DICMAPI), University of Naples Federico II, P.le Tecchio 80, 80125 Naples, Italy
- Interdisciplinary Research Centre on Biomaterials (CRIB), University of Napoli Federico II, P.le Tecchio 80, 80125 Napoli, Italy
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Harding IC, O'Hare NR, Vigliotti M, Caraballo A, Lee CI, Millican K, Herman IM, Ebong EE. Developing a transwell millifluidic device for studying blood-brain barrier endothelium. LAB ON A CHIP 2022; 22:4603-4620. [PMID: 36326069 PMCID: PMC11416711 DOI: 10.1039/d2lc00657j] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Blood-brain barrier (BBB) endothelial cell (EC) function depends on flow conditions and on supportive cells, like pericytes and astrocytes, which have been shown to be both beneficial and detrimental for brain EC function. Most studies investigating BBB EC function lack physiological relevance, using sub-physiological shear stress magnitudes and/or omitting pericytes and astrocytes. In this study, we developed a millifluidic device compatible with standard transwell inserts to investigate BBB function. In contrast to standard polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) microfluidic devices, this model allows for easy, reproducible shear stress exposure without common limitations of PDMS devices such as inadequate nutrient diffusion and air bubble formation. In no-flow conditions, we first used the device to examine the impact of primary human pericytes and astrocytes on human brain microvascular EC (HBMEC) barrier integrity. Astrocytes, pericytes, and a 1-to-1 ratio of both cell types increased HBMEC barrier integrity via reduced 3 and 40 kDa fluorescent dextran permeability and increased claudin-5 expression. There were differing levels of low 3 kDa permeability in HBMEC-pericyte, HBMEC-astrocyte, and HBMEC-astrocyte-pericyte co-cultures, while levels of low 40 kDa permeability were consistent across co-cultures. The 3 kDa findings suggest that pericytes provide more barrier support to the BBB model compared to astrocytes, although both supportive cell types are permeability reducers. Incorporation of 24-hour 12 dynes per cm2 flow significantly reduced dextran permeability in HBMEC monolayers, but not in the tri-culture model. These results indicate that tri-culture may exert more pronounced impact on overall BBB permeability than flow exposure. In both cases, monolayer and tri-culture, flow exposure interestingly reduced HBMEC expression of both claudin-5 and occludin. ZO-1 expression, and localization at cell-cell junctions increased in the tri-culture but exhibited no apparent change in the HBMEC monolayer. Under flow conditions, we also observed HBMEC alignment in the tri-culture but not in HBMEC monolayers, indicating supportive cells and flow are both essential to observe brain EC alignment in vitro. Collectively, these results support the necessity of physiologically relevant, multicellular BBB models when investigating BBB EC function. Consideration of the roles of shear stress and supportive cells within the BBB is critical for elucidating the physiology of the neurovascular unit.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ian C Harding
- Department of Bioengineering, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Nicholas R O'Hare
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Northeastern University, 360 Huntington Avenue, 129 Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Complex, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
| | - Mark Vigliotti
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Northeastern University, 360 Huntington Avenue, 129 Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Complex, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
| | - Alex Caraballo
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Northeastern University, 360 Huntington Avenue, 129 Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Complex, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
| | - Claire I Lee
- Department of Bioengineering, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Karina Millican
- Department of Bioengineering, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Ira M Herman
- Department of Developmental, Molecular, and Chemical Biology, Tufts School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences, Boston, MA, USA
- Center for Innovations in Wound Healing Research, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Eno E Ebong
- Department of Bioengineering, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Northeastern University, 360 Huntington Avenue, 129 Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Complex, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
- Department of Neuroscience, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, NY, USA
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Mansouri M, Ahmed A, Ahmad SD, McCloskey MC, Joshi IM, Gaborski TR, Waugh RE, McGrath JL, Day SW, Abhyankar VV. The Modular µSiM Reconfigured: Integration of Microfluidic Capabilities to Study In Vitro Barrier Tissue Models under Flow. Adv Healthc Mater 2022; 11:e2200802. [PMID: 35953453 PMCID: PMC9798530 DOI: 10.1002/adhm.202200802] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2022] [Revised: 08/01/2022] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Abstract
Microfluidic tissue barrier models have emerged to address the lack of physiological fluid flow in conventional "open-well" Transwell-like devices. However, microfluidic techniques have not achieved widespread usage in bioscience laboratories because they are not fully compatible with traditional experimental protocols. To advance barrier tissue research, there is a need for a platform that combines the key advantages of both conventional open-well and microfluidic systems. Here, a plug-and-play flow module is developed to introduce on-demand microfluidic flow capabilities to an open-well device that features a nanoporous membrane and live-cell imaging capabilities. The magnetic latching assembly of this design enables bi-directional reconfiguration and allows users to conduct an experiment in an open-well format with established protocols and then add or remove microfluidic capabilities as desired. This work also provides an experimentally-validated flow model to select flow conditions based on the experimental needs. As a proof-of-concept, flow-induced alignment of endothelial cells and the expression of shear-sensitive gene targets are demonstrated, and the different phases of neutrophil transmigration across a chemically stimulated endothelial monolayer under flow conditions are visualized. With these experimental capabilities, it is anticipated that both engineering and bioscience laboratories will adopt this reconfigurable design due to the compatibility with standard open-well protocols.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mehran Mansouri
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY, 14623, USA
| | - Adeel Ahmed
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY, 14623, USA
| | - S. Danial Ahmad
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, 14627, USA
| | - Molly C. McCloskey
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, 14627, USA
| | - Indranil M. Joshi
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY, 14623, USA
| | - Thomas R. Gaborski
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY, 14623, USA
| | - Richard E. Waugh
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, 14627, USA
| | - James L. McGrath
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, 14627, USA
| | - Steven W. Day
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY, 14623, USA
| | - Vinay V. Abhyankar
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY, 14623, USA
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Cerimi K, Jäckel U, Meyer V, Daher U, Reinert J, Klar S. In Vitro Systems for Toxicity Evaluation of Microbial Volatile Organic Compounds on Humans: Current Status and Trends. J Fungi (Basel) 2022; 8:75. [PMID: 35050015 PMCID: PMC8780961 DOI: 10.3390/jof8010075] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2021] [Revised: 01/05/2022] [Accepted: 01/10/2022] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Microbial volatile organic compounds (mVOC) are metabolic products and by-products of bacteria and fungi. They play an important role in the biosphere: They are responsible for inter- and intra-species communication and can positively or negatively affect growth in plants. But they can also cause discomfort and disease symptoms in humans. Although a link between mVOCs and respiratory health symptoms in humans has been demonstrated by numerous studies, standardized test systems for evaluating the toxicity of mVOCs are currently not available. Also, mVOCs are not considered systematically at regulatory level. We therefore performed a literature survey of existing in vitro exposure systems and lung models in order to summarize the state-of-the-art and discuss their suitability for understanding the potential toxic effects of mVOCs on human health. We present a review of submerged cultivation, air-liquid-interface (ALI), spheroids and organoids as well as multi-organ approaches and compare their advantages and disadvantages. Furthermore, we discuss the limitations of mVOC fingerprinting. However, given the most recent developments in the field, we expect that there will soon be adequate models of the human respiratory tract and its response to mVOCs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kustrim Cerimi
- Unit 4.7 Biological Agents, Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Nöldnerstraße 40–42, 10317 Berlin, Germany; (U.J.); (J.R.); (S.K.)
| | - Udo Jäckel
- Unit 4.7 Biological Agents, Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Nöldnerstraße 40–42, 10317 Berlin, Germany; (U.J.); (J.R.); (S.K.)
| | - Vera Meyer
- Chair of Applied and Molecular Microbiology, Institute of Biotechnology, Technische Universität Berlin, Straße des 17. Juni 135, 10623 Berlin, Germany;
| | - Ugarit Daher
- BIH Center for Regenerative Therapies (BCRT), BIH Stem Cell Core Facility, Berlin Institute of Health, Charité—Universitätsmedizin, 13353 Berlin, Germany;
| | - Jessica Reinert
- Unit 4.7 Biological Agents, Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Nöldnerstraße 40–42, 10317 Berlin, Germany; (U.J.); (J.R.); (S.K.)
| | - Stefanie Klar
- Unit 4.7 Biological Agents, Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Nöldnerstraße 40–42, 10317 Berlin, Germany; (U.J.); (J.R.); (S.K.)
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