Using a co-culture microsystem for cell migration under fluid shear stress

We have successfully developed a microsystem to co-cultivate two types of cells with a minimum defined gap of 50 μm, and to quantitatively study the impact of fluid shear stress on the mutual influence of cell migration velocity and distance. We used the hydrostatic pressure to seed two different cells, endothelial cells (ECs) and smooth muscle cells (SMCs), on opposite sides of various gap sizes (500 μm, 200 μm, 100 μm, and 50 μm). After cultivating the cells for 12 h and peeling the co-culture microchip from the culture dish, we studied the impacts of gap size on the migration of either cell type in the absence or presence of fluid shear stress (7 dyne cm(-2) and 12 dyne cm(-2)) influence. We found that both gap size and shear stress have profound influence on cell migration. Smaller gap sizes (100 μm and 50 μm) significantly enhanced cell migration, suggesting a requirement of an effective concentration of released factor(s) by either cell type in the gap region. Flow-induced shear stress delayed the migration onset of either cell type in a dose-dependent manner regardless of the gap size. Moreover, shear stress-induced decrease of cell migration becomes evident when the gap size was 500 μm. We have developed a co-culture microsystem for two kinds of cells and overcome the conventional difficulties in observation and mixed culture, and it would have more application for bio-manipulation and tissue repair engineering.     

Peptide-mediated selective adhesion of smooth muscle and endothelial cells in microfluidic shear flow

Microfluidic devices have recently emerged as effective tools for cell separation compared to traditional techniques. These devices offer the advantages of small sample volumes, low cost, and high purity. Adhesion-based separation of cells from heterogeneous suspensions can be achieved by taking advantage of specific ligand-receptor interactions. The peptide sequences Arg-Glu-Asp-Val (REDV) and Val-Ala-Pro-Gly (VAPG) are known to bind preferentially to endothelial cells (ECs) and smooth muscle cells (SMCs), respectively. This article examines the roles of REDV and VAPG and fluid shear stress in achieving selective capture of ECs and SMCs in microfluidic devices. The adhesion of ECs in REDV-coated devices and SMCs in VAPG-coated devices increases significantly compared to that of the nontargeted cells with decreasing shear stress. Furthermore, the adhesion of these cells is shown to be independent of whether these cells flow through the devices as suspensions of only one cell type or as a heterogeneous suspension containing ECs, SMCs, and fibroblasts. Whereas the overall adhesion of cells in the devices is determined mainly by shear stress, the selectivity of adhesion depends on the type of peptide and on the device surface as well as on the shear stress.     

Investigation of the Effective Action Distance Between Hematopoietic Stem/Progenitor Cells and Human Adipose-Derived Stem Cells During Their In Vitro Co-culture

The in vitro suitable action distance between umbilical cord blood-derived hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells and its feeder cell, human adipose-derived stem cells, during their co-culture, was investigated through a novel transwell co-culture protocol, in which the distance between the two culture chambers where each cell type is growing can be adjusted from 10 to 450 μm. The total cell number was determined with a hemacytometer, and the cell morphology was observed under an inverted microscope each day. After 7 days of co-culture, the fold-expansion, surface antigen expression of CD34(+) and CFU-GM assay of the hematopoietic mononuclear cells (MNCs) were analyzed. The results showed that there was an optimal communication distance at around 350 μm between both types of stem cells during their in vitro co-culture. By using this distance, the UCB-MNCs and CD34(+) cells were expanded by 15.1?±?0.2 and 5.0?±?0.1-fold, respectively. It can therefore be concluded that the optimal action distance between stem cells and their supportive cells, when cultured together for 7 days, is of around 350 μm.     

Selective Adhesion and Directional Migration of Endothelial Cells Guided by Cys‐Ala‐Gly Peptide Density Gradient on Antifouling Polymer Brushes

Selective adhesion and directional migration of endothelial cells (ECs) on biomaterials is critical to realize the rapid endothelialization. In this study, a Cys‐Ala‐Gly (CAG) peptide density gradient is generated on homogeneous cell‐resisting poly(2‐hydroxyethyl methacrylate‐co‐glycidyl methacrylate) brushes by immersing the brushes in a complementary gradient solution of CAG and competitive mercapto‐terminated methoxyl poly(ethylene glycol). The adhesion and spreading of smooth muscle cells (SMCs) is impaired effectively on the gradient surface. About six folds of adherent ECs over SMCs are achieved at the position (10 mm) of highest CAG density on the gradient surface in a co‐culture condition. Due to the gradient cues, ECs migrate fastest with the best directionality of 86.7% at the middle of the gradient, leading to the maximum net displacement as well.     

基于聚多巴胺辅助自组装单分子层技术的PTFE表面修饰及其内皮细胞选择性黏附研究

利用聚多巴胺技术对PTFE进行表面改性,X射线光电子能谱(XPS)、椭偏、接触角以及石英晶体微天平(QCM-D)证实DOPA分子可以在PTFE表面自聚形成反应性的超薄膜功能涂层,并通过聚多巴胺辅助自组装单分子层(SAM)技术构建了活性多肽链段CGREDVDY的界面.细胞黏附实验反映活性链段CGREDVDY的修饰表面具备良好的内皮细胞选择性黏附能力.这种具有内皮细胞选择性黏附能力的界面有望实现材料在复杂生理环境中对内皮细胞的原位诱导,为制备具有血管内皮原位快速愈合功能的新型血液相容性人造血管提供新途径.     

A digital microfluidic platform for primary cell culture and analysis

Digital microfluidics (DMF) is a technology that facilitates electrostatic manipulation of discrete nano- and micro-litre droplets across an array of electrodes, which provides the advantages of single sample addressability, automation, and parallelization. There has been considerable interest in recent years in using DMF for cell culture and analysis, but previous studies have used immortalized cell lines. We report here the first digital microfluidic method for primary cell culture and analysis. A new mode of "upside-down" cell culture was implemented by patterning the top plate of a device using a fluorocarbon liftoff technique. This method was useful for culturing three different primary cell types for up to one week, as well as implementing a fixation, permeabilization, and staining procedure for F-actin and nuclei. A multistep assay for monocyte adhesion to endothelial cells (ECs) was performed to evaluate functionality in DMF-cultured primary cells and to demonstrate co-culture using a DMF platform. Monocytes were observed to adhere in significantly greater numbers to ECs exposed to tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α than those that were not, confirming that ECs cultured in this format maintain in vivo-like properties. The ability to manipulate, maintain, and assay primary cells demonstrates a useful application for DMF in studies involving precious samples of cells from small animals or human patients.     

全二维气相色谱-电子捕获检测器法分析土壤中毒杀芬同类物的残留

建立了全二维气相色谱-电子捕获检测器(GC× GC-μECD)检测土壤中毒杀芬同类物的分析方法.以非极性的DB- XLB(20 m×0.25 mm×0.25 μm)为第一色谱柱,中等极性的BPX-50(2 m×0.1 mm×0.1 μm)为第二色谱柱,对土壤中23种高关注毒杀芬同类物进行了分离鉴定,并采用基质曲线外标法进行定量分析.本方法在1～200,μg/L浓度范围内,毒杀芬同类物的线性相关系数(r2)均大于0.99,方法检出限(S/N=3)为0.039～0.482 μg/L,基质加标毒杀芬同类物的回收率为55％～115％,相对标准偏差(RSD)均小于30％(n=5).利用本方法对毒杀芬污染的土壤样品进行了测定,获得了较好的分离效果.     

Fabrication of extracellular matrix-coated conductive polypyrrole-poly(l-lactide) fiber-films and their synergistic effect with (nerve growth factor)/(epidermal growth factor) on neurites growth

Non-nerve cell-derived extracellular matrix (ECM) was coated on the aligned porous polypyrrole-poly(l-lactide) (PPy-PLLA) fiber-films with the conductivity of ∼12 mS/m via L929 cells culture and lysing, resulting in ∼10% increase of PC12 cells attachment and ∼26 μm increase of neurites length. The neurite length of ∼149 μm in EGF/NGF group (optimal concentration radio of 12.5/50 (ng/mL)) on aligned and ECM-conjugated fiber-films was significantly larger than ∼94 μm in only NGF group (50 ng/mL), confirming the synergy of EGF, NGF and aligned ECM-conjuaged PPy-PLLA fibers. When differentiated PC12 cells were exerted electrical stimulation (ES) of 100 mV/cm for 4 h/day in 2 day through ECM-PPy-PLLA fiber-films, their neurite length reached to ∼251 μm, significantly larger than ∼149 μm of group without ES, due to the higer expression of related neural proteins in ES group. A simple mechanism was proposed to analyze synergistical effect of ECM, EGF, NGF on axons adhesion and elongation along the aligned ECM-coated fibers under ES condition.     

The phenol efficient degradation using co-culture coupled with enhanced electricity generation capability

The co-culture of strain Citrobacter sp. RDC and Geobacter sulfurreducens PCA was used in this study and it was found that the co-culture using 200 mg/L phenol as carbon source exhibited higher maximum current density than using the single strain RDC and G. sulfurreducens PCA, respectively. Meanwhile, the co-culture was used to generate electricity by degrading phenol with the current density of 699.07 μA/cm² by using 200 mg/L phenol as the sole carbon source, which was higher than that only using G. sulfurreducens PCA (236.20 μA/cm²). Especially, the degradation efficiency of 200 mg/L phenol by co-culture can reach 55.16 % within 36 h being 4.16-fold higher than the single strain G. sulfurreducens PCA. Furthermore, the component ratio of two strains was optimized for increasing electricity generation using 500 mg/L phenol as carbon source. The maximum current density was 501.54 μA/cm² under the ratio of 3 : 1 for strain RDC to G. sulfurreducens PCA. These results highlight that phenol is good carbon source for co-culture to produce electricity. The co-culture system provides a promising application pathway for phenol degradation treatment coupled with electricity generation in the future.     

Synthesis of potent and selective inhibitors against the proliferation of human coronary artery smooth muscle cells

A series of diarylamide urea derivatives were synthesized and evaluated for their inhibitory activities against human coronary artery smooth muscle cells (SMCs) and human coronary artery endothelial cells (ECs). Compound 2h was much superior to Tranilast, in terms of both the potency of its inhibitory activity toward the proliferation of SMCs and the cell selectivity.     

Mid-scale free-flow electrophoresis with gravity-induced uniform flow of background buffer in chamber for the separation of cells and proteins

A large-scale free-flow electrophoresis (LS-FFE) is often too large for cell separation of lab scale, whereas micro-FFE (μFFE) has great difficulty in cell isolation due to easy blockage by cell accumulation in μFFE. In this study, a mid-scale FFE (MS-FFE) is developed for cell and protein separations. The volume of the separation chamber (70×40×0.1-0.8 mm) is from 280 μL to 2.24 mL, much lower than that in an LS-FFE but higher than that in a μFFE. Gravity is used for uniform flow of the background buffer only via a single pump with 16 channels and the sample is injected via an adjuster originally used for clinical intravenous injection. The experiments reveal that the hydrodynamic and electrohydrodynamic flows are much stable, and the Joule heat can be effectively dispersed without obvious positive or negative deviation as shown by the omega plots. By the device, Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus, which easily accumulate to block μFFE and are separated with difficulty due to their same negative charges carried, can be well isolated under the conditions of 4.5 mM pH 8.5 Tris-boric buffer (4.5 mM Tris, 4.5 mM boric acid) with 0.10 mM ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid and 5% m/v sucrose, 200 μL/min, 800 V, and sample injection via inlet 4. The mid-scale FFE device could also be used for the separation of three model proteins of horse heart cytochrome c, myoglobin and bovine serum albumin. The device has clear significance for mid-scale separation of cells and proteins.     

微流蒸发光散射检测器的研制及评价

构建了适用于纳升级到微升级流量的毛细管分离体系的微流蒸发光散射检测器(μELSD),实现了其与毛细管液相色谱(eLC)的联用.对雾化器孔径和雾化毛细管内径、蒸发管内径和长度、光散射池尺寸、雾化毛细管位置和辅助载气流量等参数进行了优化.在最优条件下,微流蒸发光散射检测器检出限为直接进样葡萄糖1 ng(S/N＞ 10),线性范围0.01～1.0 μg,重复性好,峰面积RSD(n=6)为0.4％,峰高RSD(n=6)为0.3％.本检测器已成功应用cLC-μELSD平台,使用C18毛细管色谱柱(内径250 μm),0.1％甲酸铵溶液(pH 4.5)-甲醇(60∶40,V/V)为流动相,分离检测了3种常用甜味剂,表明本研究构建的系统可以应用于实际分离检测中,具有分析时间快、溶剂消耗量少、样品需求量小的优点.     

Effect of Cortisol on Calpains in the C2C12 and 3T3-L1 Cells

The present study was carried out to understand the effect of cortisol on calpain system in the C2C12 and 3T3-L1 adipocyte cells under co-culture system. Cells were co-cultured by using transwell inserts with a 0.4 μm porous membrane to separate C2C12 and 3T3-L1 preadipocyte cells. Each cell type was grown independently on the transwell plates. Following cell differentiation, inserts containing 3T3-L1 cells were transferred to C2C12 plates. Ten microgram per milliliter of cortisol was added to the medium. Following treatment for 3 days, the cells in the lower well were harvested for analysis. Calpains such as μ-calpain, m-calpain, and calpastatin were selected for the analysis. RT-PCR results indicated the significant increase in the mRNA expression of μ-calpain, m-calpain, and calpastatin. In addition, the confocal microscopical investigation indicated the cortisol treatment increases calpain expression in the C2C12 and 3T3-L1 cells. Taking all these together, cortisol treatment with co-culture system shows most reliable status of calpains expression in the cells, which is quite distinct from one-dimensional monocultured cells.     

Characterization of a microfluidic in vitro model of the blood-brain barrier (μBBB)

The blood-brain barrier (BBB), a unique selective barrier for the central nervous system (CNS), hinders the passage of most compounds to the CNS, complicating drug development. Innovative in vitro models of the BBB can provide useful insights into its role in CNS disease progression and drug delivery. Static transwell models lack fluidic shear stress, while the conventional dynamic in vitro BBB lacks a thin dual cell layer interface. To address both limitations, we developed a microfluidic blood-brain barrier (μBBB) which closely mimics the in vivo BBB with a dynamic environment and a comparatively thin culture membrane (10 μm). To test validity of the fabricated BBB model, μBBBs were cultured with b.End3 endothelial cells, both with and without co-cultured C8-D1A astrocytes, and their key properties were tested with optical imaging, trans-endothelial electrical resistance (TEER), and permeability assays. The resultant imaging of ZO-1 revealed clearly expressed tight junctions in b.End3 cells, Live/Dead assays indicated high cell viability, and astrocytic morphology of C8-D1A cells were confirmed by ESEM and GFAP immunostains. By day 3 of endothelial culture, TEER levels typically exceeded 250 Ω cm(2) in μBBB co-cultures, and 25 Ω cm(2) for transwell co-cultures. Instantaneous transient drop in TEER in response to histamine exposure was observed in real-time, followed by recovery, implying stability of the fabricated μBBB model. Resultant permeability coefficients were comparable to previous BBB models, and were significantly increased at higher pH (>10). These results demonstrate that the developed μBBB system is a valid model for some studies of BBB function and drug delivery.     

丹磺酰氯柱前衍生-超高效液相色谱-串联质谱法测定人体尿样中的环己胺

建立丹磺酰氯柱前衍生-超高效液相色谱-串联质谱法测定人体尿样中环己胺的方法。冷冻样品经解冻、离心后,用丹磺酰氯衍生,固相萃取小柱净化。目标化合物采用 Waters ACQUITY CSHTM C18色谱柱(50 mm×2.1 mm,1.7μm)分离,以甲醇和0.002 mol/L乙酸铵溶液为流动相梯度洗脱,采用电喷雾离子源电离、正离子多反应监测模式质谱检测。环己胺在2.5~200μg/L浓度范围内有较好的线性关系,相关系数大于0.999,回收率为98.7%~102.3%,精密度为3.1%~5.2%,检出限和定量限分别为1.0和3.0μg/L。结果表明,本方法操作简单、准确可靠,可适用于人体尿液中环己胺的定量分析。应用本方法测定200份学生尿液样品,环己胺检出率为34.5%。     

Cell sheet engineering: intelligent polymer patterned surfaces for tissue engineered liver

We describe a new culture system utilizing the temperature-responsive polymer grafted surface for designing of cell position and layered tissue reconstruction. Organizing of the hepatic tissue structure by controlling the culture system, that is patterned co-culture and layered cell sheet co-culture achieved by moving the cultured cells from the culture surface, resulted in regulation of the hepatocyte function. The technique for cell sheet manipulation would promote the liver tissue engineering in quality.     

Establishment of a confluent cardiomyocyte culture in a cylindrical microchannel

We established a confluent cardiomyocyte culture method using an 800-μm diameter cylindrical microchannel in this report. This was realized by introducing cardiomyocytes 2 times before and after turning over a microchip. The optimum condition was starting the flowing medium 2.0 h after seeding and flowing the medium at 1.0 μL/min. By applying this technology to a cardiomyocyte-based spherical heart pump device, one may develop self-fluid regulated devices that could be applied for implantable or circulation analysis device on a chip.     

Development of a microfluidics biosensor for agarose-bead immobilized Escherichia coli bioreporter cells for arsenite detection in aqueous samples

Contamination with arsenic is a recurring problem in both industrialized and developing countries. Drinking water supplies for large populations can have concentrations much higher than the permissible levels (for most European countries and the United States, 10 μg As per L; elsewhere, 50 μg As per L). Arsenic analysis requires high-end instruments, which are largely unavailable in developing countries. Bioassays based on genetically engineered bacteria have been proposed as suitable alternatives but such tests would profit from better standardization and direct incorporation into sensing devices. The goal of this work was to develop and test microfluidic devices in which bacterial bioreporters could be embedded, exposed and reporter signals detected, as a further step towards a complete miniaturized bacterial biosensor. The signal element in the biosensor is a nonpathogenic laboratory strain of Escherichia coli, which produces a variant of the green fluorescent protein after contact to arsenite and arsenate. E. coli bioreporter cells were encapsulated in agarose beads and incorporated into a microfluidic device where they were captured in 500 × 500 μm(2) cages and exposed to aqueous samples containing arsenic. Cell-beads frozen at -20 °C in the microfluidic chip retained inducibility for up to a month and arsenic samples with 10 or 50 μg L(-1) could be reproducibly discriminated from the blank. In the 0-50 μg L(-1) range and with an exposure time of 200 minutes, the rate of signal increase was linearly proportional to the arsenic concentration. The time needed to reliably and reproducibly detect a concentration of 50 μg L(-1) was 75-120 minutes, and 120-180 minutes for a concentration of 10 μg L(-1).     

Collection of in vivo-like liver cell secretome with alternative sample enrichment method using a hollow fiber bioreactor culture system combined with tangential flow filtration for secretomics analysis

A hollow fiber bioreactor (HFB) culture system coupled with a tangential flow filtration (TFF) device was used for HepG2 cell secretome analysis. In order to reduce the loss of low-molecular-weight proteins, two new features, the hollow fiber with 0.1 μm pore size and a TFF device with a membrane of 1kDa molecular weight cutoff, were added to the system described previously. The HFB culture system and the conventional dish culture method for secretome collection were compared side by side. It was observed that only a small fraction of cells (<0.01%) were lysed in the HFB culture system, in contrast to the 2.73% in the conventional dish culture. A total of 111 proteins were identified in the collected conditioned medium (CM) by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) with this improved collection procedure. Many of these proteins reported to be biomarkers for liver-related diseases. About 16% of the identified proteins were smaller than 20kDa, demonstrating that the modified collection system had the ability to reduce the loss of low-molecular-weight proteins, in contrast to our previous collection system. The percentage increase of proteins classified as extracellular space or plasma membrane between the conventional dish culture and the HFB culture system was 40-60%. We believed that in vivo-like culture environments could support liver cells to improve protein secretion than conventional dish cultures. We suggest that the combination of the HFB culture system, TFF device, and LC-MS/MS analysis, would be an efficient procedure for the collection and characterization of in vivo-like cell secretome.