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Langella A, Gadau SD, Serra E, Bebbere D, Ledda S. Microtubular Assessment of C6 Rat Glioma Cell Spheroids Developed in Transparent Liquid Marbles or Hanging Drops. Biology (Basel) 2022; 11:biology11040492. [PMID: 35453692 PMCID: PMC9031767 DOI: 10.3390/biology11040492] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2022] [Revised: 03/16/2022] [Accepted: 03/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Glioblastoma is a brain tumour frequently used as an experimental model to exploit innovative therapeutic approaches due to its high lethality and refractoriness to therapies. Part of these innovative anticancer therapies address cytoskeletal microtubules (MTs) since specific tubulin post-translational modifications (PTMs) are considered markers of tumour plasticity. In vitro studies, which traditionally employ two-dimensional (2D) culture systems, are now being replaced by three-dimensional (3D) systems that more closely mimic in vivo physiological conditions and allow a better understanding of the signalling between cells. In this work, we compared 2 liquid base 3D methods for the generation of spheroids from C6 rat glioma cells (RGCs) using 30 µL of liquid marble (LM) or the hanging drops (HDs), which contained 2 different cell numbers (5000 or 15,000). After 24 or 48 h of in vitro culture (IVC), the morphology of the spheroids was observed and the behaviour of the two main tubulin PTMs, tyrosinated α-tubulin (Tyr-T) and acetylated α-tubulin (Ac-T), was evaluated by fluorescence and Western blot (WB). RGCs spontaneously formed spherical agglomerates more rapidly in the LM than in the HD system. Cell density influenced the size of the spheroids, which reached a larger size (> of 300 µm Ø), with 15,000 cells compared to 5000 cells (150 µm Ø). Moreover, an increase in Tyr-T and Ac-T was observed in both the HD and LM system from 24 to 48 h, with the highest values shown in the 48 h/LM spheroids of 5000 cells (p < 0.05). In conclusion, by comparing the morphology and microtubular architecture of spheroids from C6 rat glioma cells developed by LM or HD methodology, our findings demonstrate that the use of a fumed silica microbioreactor boosts the induction and maintenance of a high plasticity state in glioma cells. RGCs cultured in LM express levels of tubulin PTMs that can be used to evaluate the efficacy of new anticancer therapies.
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Boos JA, Misun PM, Brunoldi G, Furer LA, Aengenheister L, Modena M, Rousset N, Buerki-Thurnherr T, Hierlemann A. Microfluidic Co-Culture Platform to Recapitulate the Maternal-Placental-Embryonic Axis. Adv Biol (Weinh) 2021; 5:e2100609. [PMID: 34145989 DOI: 10.1002/adbi.202100609] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2021] [Revised: 05/28/2021] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Safety assessment of the effects of developmental toxicants on pregnant women is challenging, and systemic effects in embryo-maternal interactions are largely unknown. However, most developmental toxicity studies rely on animal trials, while in vitro platforms that recapitulate the maternal-placental-embryonic axis are missing. Here, the development of a dedicated microfluidic device for co-cultivation of a placental barrier and 3D embryoid bodies to enable systemic toxicity testing at the embryo-maternal interface is reported. The microfluidic platform features simple handling and recuperation of both tissue models, which facilitates post-hoc in-depth analysis at the tissue and single-cell level. Gravity-driven flow enables inter-tissue communication through the liquid phase as well as simple and robust operation and renders the platform parallelizable. As a proof of concept and to demonstrate platform use for systemic embryotoxicity testing in vitro, maternal exposure to plastic microparticles is emulated, and microparticle effects on the embryo-placental co-culture are investigated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia A Boos
- Bioengineering Laboratory, Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering, ETH Zürich, Mattenstrasse 26, Basel, 4058, Switzerland
| | - Patrick M Misun
- Bioengineering Laboratory, Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering, ETH Zürich, Mattenstrasse 26, Basel, 4058, Switzerland
| | - Giulia Brunoldi
- Bioengineering Laboratory, Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering, ETH Zürich, Mattenstrasse 26, Basel, 4058, Switzerland
| | - Lea A Furer
- Particles@Barriers Group, Particles-Biology Interactions, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, Lerchenfeldstrasse 5, St. Gallen, 9014, Switzerland
| | - Leonie Aengenheister
- Particles@Barriers Group, Particles-Biology Interactions, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, Lerchenfeldstrasse 5, St. Gallen, 9014, Switzerland
| | - Mario Modena
- Bioengineering Laboratory, Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering, ETH Zürich, Mattenstrasse 26, Basel, 4058, Switzerland
| | - Nassim Rousset
- Bioengineering Laboratory, Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering, ETH Zürich, Mattenstrasse 26, Basel, 4058, Switzerland
| | - Tina Buerki-Thurnherr
- Particles@Barriers Group, Particles-Biology Interactions, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, Lerchenfeldstrasse 5, St. Gallen, 9014, Switzerland
| | - Andreas Hierlemann
- Bioengineering Laboratory, Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering, ETH Zürich, Mattenstrasse 26, Basel, 4058, Switzerland
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Wu Jin P, Rousset N, Hierlemann A, Misun PM. A Microfluidic Hanging-Drop-Based Islet Perifusion System for Studying Glucose-Stimulated Insulin Secretion From Multiple Individual Pancreatic Islets. Front Bioeng Biotechnol 2021; 9:674431. [PMID: 34055765 PMCID: PMC8149801 DOI: 10.3389/fbioe.2021.674431] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2021] [Accepted: 04/12/2021] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Islet perifusion systems can be used to monitor the highly dynamic insulin release of pancreatic islets in glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS) assays. Here, we present a new generation of the microfluidic hanging-drop-based islet perifusion platform that was developed to study the alterations in insulin secretion dynamics from single pancreatic islet microtissues at high temporal resolution. The platform was completely redesigned to increase experimental throughput and to reduce operational complexity. The experimental throughput was increased fourfold by implementing a network of interconnected hanging drops, which allows for performing GSIS assays with four individual islet microtissues in parallel with a sampling interval of 30 s. We introduced a self-regulating drop-height mechanism that enables continuous flow and maintains a constant liquid volume in the chip, which enables simple and robust operation. Upon glucose stimulation, reproducible biphasic insulin release was simultaneously observed from all islets in the system. The measured insulin concentrations showed low sample-to-sample variation as a consequence of precise liquid handling with stable drop volumes, equal flow rates in the channels, and accurately controlled sampling volumes in all four drops. The presented device will be a valuable tool in islet and diabetes research for studying dynamic insulin secretion from individual pancreatic islets.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Andreas Hierlemann
- Bio Engineering Laboratory, Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering, ETH Zürich, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Patrick M. Misun
- Bio Engineering Laboratory, Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering, ETH Zürich, Basel, Switzerland
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Chen YW, Chen MC, Wu KW, Tu TY. A Facile Approach for Rapid Prototyping of Microneedle Molds, Microwells and Micro-Through-Holes in Various Substrate Materials Using CO 2 Laser Drilling. Biomedicines 2020; 8:biomedicines8100427. [PMID: 33081055 PMCID: PMC7603185 DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines8100427] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2020] [Accepted: 10/15/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
CO2 laser manufacturing has served as an enabling and reliable tool for rapid and cost-effective microfabrication over the past few decades. While a wide range of industrial and biological applications have been studied, the choice of materials fabricated across various laser parameters and systems is often confounded by their complex combinations. We herein presented a unified procedure performed using percussion CO2 laser drilling with a range of laser parameters, substrate materials and various generated microstructures, enabling a variety of downstream tissue/cellular-based applications. Emphasis is placed on delineating the laser drilling effect on different biocompatible materials and proof-of-concept utilities. First, a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) microneedle (MN) array mold is fabricated to generate dissolvable polyvinylpyrrolidone/polyvinyl alcohol (PVP/PVA) MNs for transdermal drug delivery. Second, polystyrene (PS) microwells are optimized in a compact array for the formation of size-controlled multicellular tumor spheroids (MCTSs). Third, coverglass is perforated to form a microaperture that can be used to trap/position cells/spheroids. Fourth, the creation of through-holes in PS is validated as an accessible method to create channels that facilitate medium exchange in hanging drop arrays and as a conducive tool for the growth and drug screenings of MCTSs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu-Wei Chen
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 70101, Taiwan; (Y.-W.C.); (K.-W.W.)
| | - Mei-Chin Chen
- Department of Chemical Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 70101, Taiwan;
| | - Kuang-Wei Wu
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 70101, Taiwan; (Y.-W.C.); (K.-W.W.)
| | - Ting-Yuan Tu
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 70101, Taiwan; (Y.-W.C.); (K.-W.W.)
- Medical Device Innovation Center, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 70101, Taiwan
- International Center for Wound Repair and Regeneration, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 70101, Taiwan
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +886-966-570-573
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Zakariyah A, Rajgara R, Shelton M, Blais A, Skerjanc IS, Burgon PG. Combinatorial Utilization of Murine Embryonic Stem Cells and In Vivo Models to Study Human Congenital Heart Disease. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2018; 48:e75. [PMID: 30548532 DOI: 10.1002/cpsc.75] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
We have established an in vitro model of the human congenital heart defect (CHD)-associated mutation NKX2.5 R141C. We describe the use of the hanging drop method to differentiate Nkx2.5R141C/+ murine embryonic stem cells (mESCs) along with Nkx2.5+/+ control cells. This method allows us to recapitulate the early stages of embryonic heart development in tissue culture. We also use qRT-PCR and immunofluorescence to examine samples at different time points during differentiation to validate our data. The in vivo model is a mouse line with a knock-in of the same mutation. We describe the isolation of RNA from embryonic day 8.5 (E8.5) embryos and E9.5 hearts of wild-type and mutant mice. We found that the in vitro model shows reduced cardiomyogenesis, similar to Nkx2.5R141C/+ embryos at E8.5, indicating a transient loss of cardiomyogenesis at this time point. These results suggest that our in vitro model can be used to study very early changes in heart development that cause CHD. © 2018 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abeer Zakariyah
- Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology, and Immunology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Rashida Rajgara
- Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology, and Immunology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.,Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Michael Shelton
- Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology, and Immunology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Alexandre Blais
- Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology, and Immunology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.,Ottawa Institute of Systems Biology, Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.,Center for Neuromuscular Disease, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Ilona S Skerjanc
- Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology, and Immunology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Patrick G Burgon
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.,Center for Neuromuscular Disease, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.,Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.,University of Ottawa Heart Institute, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
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Dixon AR, Ramirez Y, Haengel K, Barald KF. A drop array culture for patterning adherent mouse embryonic stem cell-derived neurospheres. J Tissue Eng Regen Med 2016; 12:e379-e383. [PMID: 27943657 DOI: 10.1002/term.2389] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2015] [Revised: 10/01/2016] [Accepted: 12/06/2016] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Abstract
New therapeutic approaches for repairing an injured or degenerating nervous system have accelerated the development of methods to generate populations of neurons derived from various stem cell sources efficiently. Many of these methods require the generation of neurospheres. Here a simple technique is described for creating an array of adherent mouse embryonic stem cell (mESC)-derived neurospheres using a conventional plastic culture dish and a patterning template. mESC-derived neurospheres are confined to circular (4-mm diameter), gel-coated regions within an array. The adherent neurosphere arrays require 3 days to prepare from an mESC source; they can be maintained in 15 μl drops of medium, and exhibit extensive neurite elaboration after 8 days of cultivation. Additionally, the potential of treating the adherent neurospheres in selected drops of an array is demonstrated with a variety of differentiation-inducing reagents and subsequently individually analysing such neurospheres for gene expression, protein levels and morphological development. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
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Affiliation(s)
- Angela R Dixon
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.,Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Medical School, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Yadah Ramirez
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.,Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Medical School, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Kathryn Haengel
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.,Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Medical School, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Kate F Barald
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.,Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Medical School, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
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