scholarly journals A Novel 3D Scaffold for Cell Growth to Asses Electroporation Efficacy

Cells ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (11) ◽  
pp. 1470 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dettin ◽  
Sieni ◽  
Zamuner ◽  
Marino ◽  
Sgarbossa ◽  
...  

Tumor electroporation (EP) refers to the permeabilization of the cell membrane by means of short electric pulses thus allowing the potentiation of chemotherapeutic drugs. Standard plate adhesion 2D cell cultures can simulate the in vivo environment only partially due to lack of cell–cell interaction and extracellular matrix (ECM). In this study, we assessed a novel 3D scaffold for cell cultures based on hyaluronic acid and ionic-complementary self-assembling peptides (SAPs), by studying the growth patterns of two different breast carcinoma cell lines (HCC1569 and MDA-MB231). This 3D scaffold modulates cell shape and induces extracellular matrix deposit around cells. In the MDA-MB 231 cell line, it allows three-dimensional growth of structures known as spheroids, while in HCC1569 it achieves a cell organization similar to that observed in vivo. Interestingly, we were able to visualize the electroporation effect on the cells seeded in the new scaffold by means of standard propidium iodide assay and fluorescence microscopy. Thanks to the presence of cell–cell and cell–ECM interactions, the new 3D scaffold may represent a more reliable support for EP studies than 2D cancer cell cultures and may be used to test new EP-delivered drugs and novel EP protocols.

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (11) ◽  
pp. 5669-5680 ◽  
Author(s):  
Naoko Nakamura ◽  
Tsuyoshi Kimura ◽  
Kwangwoo Nam ◽  
Toshiya Fujisato ◽  
Hiroo Iwata ◽  
...  

Cancers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 1629
Author(s):  
Colin H. Quinn ◽  
Andee M. Beierle ◽  
Elizabeth A. Beierle

In the quest to advance neuroblastoma therapeutics, there is a need to have a deeper understanding of the tumor microenvironment (TME). From extracellular matrix proteins to tumor associated macrophages, the TME is a robust and diverse network functioning in symbiosis with the solid tumor. Herein, we review the major components of the TME including the extracellular matrix, cytokines, immune cells, and vasculature that support a more aggressive neuroblastoma phenotype and encumber current therapeutic interventions. Contemporary treatments for neuroblastoma are the result of traditional two-dimensional culture studies and in vivo models that have been translated to clinical trials. These pre-clinical studies are costly, time consuming, and neglect the study of cofounding factors such as the contributions of the TME. Three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting has become a novel approach to studying adult cancers and is just now incorporating portions of the TME and advancing to study pediatric solid. We review the methods of 3D bioprinting, how researchers have included TME pieces into the prints, and highlight present studies using neuroblastoma. Ultimately, incorporating the elements of the TME that affect neuroblastoma responses to therapy will improve the development of innovative and novel treatments. The use of 3D bioprinting to achieve this aim will prove useful in developing optimal therapies for children with neuroblastoma.


2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey D. Amack

AbstractEpithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) refers to a process in which epithelial cells lose apical-basal polarity and loosen cell–cell junctions to take on mesenchymal cell morphologies and invasive properties that facilitate migration through extracellular matrix. EMT—and the reverse mesenchymal-epithelial transition (MET)—are evolutionarily conserved processes that are used throughout embryonic development to drive tissue morphogenesis. During adult life, EMT is activated to close wounds after injury, but also can be used by cancers to promote metastasis. EMT is controlled by several mechanisms that depend on context. In response to cell–cell signaling and/or interactions with the local environment, cells undergoing EMT make rapid changes in kinase and adaptor proteins, adhesion and extracellular matrix molecules, and gene expression. Many of these changes modulate localization, activity, or expression of cytoskeletal proteins that mediate cell shape changes and cell motility. Since cellular changes during EMT are highly dynamic and context-dependent, it is ideal to analyze this process in situ in living organisms. Embryonic development of model organisms is amenable to live time-lapse microscopy, which provides an opportunity to watch EMT as it happens. Here, with a focus on functions of the actin cytoskeleton, I review recent examples of how live in vivo imaging of embryonic development has led to new insights into mechanisms of EMT. At the same time, I highlight specific developmental processes in model embryos—gastrulation in fly and mouse embryos, and neural crest cell development in zebrafish and frog embryos—that provide in vivo platforms for visualizing cellular dynamics during EMT. In addition, I introduce Kupffer’s vesicle in the zebrafish embryo as a new model system to investigate EMT and MET. I discuss how these systems have provided insights into the dynamics of adherens junction remodeling, planar cell polarity signaling, cadherin functions, and cytoskeletal organization during EMT, which are not only important for understanding development, but also cancer progression. These findings shed light on mechanisms of actin cytoskeletal dynamics during EMT, and feature live in vivo imaging strategies that can be exploited in future work to identify new mechanisms of EMT and MET.


1983 ◽  
Vol 60 (1) ◽  
pp. 89-102
Author(s):  
D de Bono ◽  
C. Green

The interactions between human or bovine vascular endothelial cells and fibroblast-like vascular intimal spindle-shaped cells have been studied in vitro, using species-specific antibodies to identify the different components in mixed cultures. Pure cultures of endothelial cells grow as uniform, nonoverlapping monolayers, but this growth pattern is lost after the addition of spindle cells, probably because the extracellular matrix secreted by the latter causes the endothelial cells to modify the way they are attached to the substrate. The result is a network of tubular aggregates of endothelial cells in a three-dimensional ‘polylayer’ of spindle-shaped cells. On the other hand, endothelial cells added to growth-inhibited cultures of spindle-shaped cells will grow in sheets over the surface of the culture. Human endothelial cells grown in contact with spindle-shaped cells have a reduced requirement for a brain-derived endothelial growth factor. The interactions of endothelial cells and other connective tissue cells in vitro may be relevant to the mechanisms of endothelial growth and blood vessel formation in vivo, and emphasize the potential importance of extracellular matrix in controlling endothelial cell behaviour.


2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (7) ◽  
pp. 838-850 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mengdie Wang ◽  
James P. Hinton ◽  
Jaime M. C. Gard ◽  
Joe G. N. Garcia ◽  
Beatrice S. Knudsen ◽  
...  

Integrin α6β4 is an essential, dynamic adhesion receptor for laminin 332 found on epithelial cells, required for formation of strong cell–extracellular matrix (ECM) adhesion and induced migration, and coordinated by regions of the β4C cytoplasmic domain. β4E, a unique splice variant of β4 expressed in normal tissue, contains a cytoplasmic domain of 231 amino acids with a unique sequence of 114 amino acids instead of β4C’s canonical 1089 amino acids. We determined the distribution of α6β4E within normal human glandular epithelium and its regulation and effect on cellular biophysical properties. Canonical α6β4C expressed in all basal cells, as expected, while α6β4E expressed within a subset of luminal cells. α6β4E expression was induced by three-dimensional culture conditions, activated Src, was reversible, and was stabilized by bortezomib, a proteasome inhibitor. α6β4C expressed in all cells during induced migration, whereas α6β4E was restricted to a subset of cells with increased kinetics of cell–cell and cell–ECM resistance properties. Interestingly, α6β4E presented in “ringlike” patterns measuring ∼1.75 × 0.72 microns and containing actin and CD9 at cell–ECM locations. In contrast, α6β4C expressed only within hemidesmosome-like structures containing BP180. Integrin α6β4E is an inducible adhesion isoform in normal epithelial cells that can alter biophysical properties of cell–cell and cell–ECM interactions.


Chemosensors ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Georgia Paivana ◽  
Theofylaktos Apostolou ◽  
Sophie Mavrikou ◽  
Dimitris Barmpakos ◽  
Grigoris Kaltsas ◽  
...  

In this work, the assessment of the interactions of a bioactive substance applied to immobilized cells in either a two-dimensional (2D) or three-dimensional (3D) arrangement mimicking in vivo tissue conditions is presented. In particular, dopamine (DA) was selected as a stimulant for the implementation of an impedance analysis with a specific type of neural cells (murine neuroblastoma). The aim of this study was the extraction of calibration curves at various frequencies with different known dopamine concentrations for the description of the behavior of dopamine applied to 2D and 3D cell cultures. The results present the evaluation of the mean impedance value for each immobilization technique in each frequency. The differential responses showed the importance of the impedance when frequency is applied in both 2D and 3D immobilization cases. More specifically, in 2D immobilization matrix impedance shows higher values in comparison with the 3D cell culture. Additionally, in the 3D case, the impedance decreases with increasing concentration, while in the 2D case, an opposite behavior was observed.


2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 683-686
Author(s):  
Sarah Biela ◽  
Britta Striegl ◽  
Kerstin Frey ◽  
Joachim P. Spatz ◽  
Ralf Kemkemer

AbstractCell-cell and cell-extracellular matrix (ECM) adhesion regulates fundamental cellular functions and is crucial for cell-material contact. Adhesion is influenced by many factors like affinity and specificity of the receptor-ligand interaction or overall ligand concentration and density. To investigate molecular details of cell-ECM and cadherins (cell-cell) interaction in vascular cells functional nanostructured surfaces were used Ligand-functionalized gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) with 6-8 nm diameter, are precisely immobilized on a surface and separated by non-adhesive regions so that individual integrins or cadherins can specifically interact with the ligands on the AuNPs. Using 40 nm and 90 nm distances between the AuNPs and functionalized either with peptide motifs of the extracellular matrix (RGD or REDV) or vascular endothelial-cadherins (VEC), the influence of distance and ligand specificity on spreading and adhesion of endothelial cells (ECs) and smooth muscle cells (SMCs) was investigated. We demonstrate that RGD-dependent adhesion of vascular cells is similar to other cell types and that the distance dependence for integrin binding to ECM-peptides is also valid for the REDV motif. VEC-ligands decrease adhesion significantly on the tested ligand distances. These results may be helpful for future improvements in vascular tissue engineering and for development of implant surfaces.


Micromachines ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 565
Author(s):  
Qasem Ramadan ◽  
Sajay Bhuvanendran Nair Gourikutty ◽  
Qingxin Zhang

Improved in vitro models of human organs for predicting drug efficacy, interactions, and disease modelling are crucially needed to minimize the use of animal models, which inevitably display significant differences from the human disease state and metabolism. Inside the body, cells are organized either in direct contact or in close proximity to other cell types in a tightly controlled architecture that regulates tissue function. To emulate this cellular interface in vitro, an advanced cell culture system is required. In this paper, we describe a set of compartmentalized silicon-based microfluidic chips that enable co-culturing several types of cells in close proximity with enhanced cell–cell interaction. In vivo-like fluid flow into and/or from each compartment, as well as between adjacent compartments, is maintained by micro-engineered porous barriers. This porous structure provides a tool for mimicking the paracrine exchange between cells in the human body. As a demonstrating example, the microfluidic system was tested by culturing human adipose tissue that is infiltrated with immune cells to study the role if the interplay between the two cells in the context of type 2 diabetes. However, the system provides a platform technology for mimicking the structure and function of single- and multi-organ models, which could significantly narrow the gap between in vivo and in vitro conditions.


2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (162) ◽  
pp. 20190739
Author(s):  
Kei Sugihara ◽  
Saori Sasaki ◽  
Akiyoshi Uemura ◽  
Satoru Kidoaki ◽  
Takashi Miura

Pericytes (PCs) wrap around endothelial cells (ECs) and perform diverse functions in physiological and pathological processes. Although molecular interactions between ECs and PCs have been extensively studied, the morphological processes at the cellular level and their underlying mechanisms have remained elusive. In this study, using a simple cellular Potts model, we explored the mechanisms for EC wrapping by PCs. Based on the observed in vitro cell wrapping in three-dimensional PC–EC coculture, the model identified four putative contributing factors: preferential adhesion of PCs to the extracellular matrix (ECM), strong cell–cell adhesion, PC surface softness and larger PC size. While cell–cell adhesion can contribute to the prevention of cell segregation and the degree of cell wrapping, it cannot determine the orientation of cell wrapping alone. While atomic force microscopy revealed that PCs have a larger Young’s modulus than ECs, the experimental analyses supported preferential ECM adhesion and size asymmetry. We also formulated the corresponding energy minimization problem and numerically solved this problem for specific cases. These results give biological insights into the role of PC–ECM adhesion in PC coverage. The modelling framework presented here should also be applicable to other cell wrapping phenomena observed in vivo .


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