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Fabrication of Inverted Colloidal Crystal Poly(ethylene glycol) Scaffold: A Three-dimensional Cell Culture Platform for Liver Tissue Engineering
Published on: August 27, 2016
Engineering liver tissue spheroids with inverted colloidal crystal scaffolds.
Jungwoo Lee1, Meghan J Cuddihy, George M Cater
1Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Michigan, 3074 H.H. Dow Building, 2300 Hayward Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
Biomaterials
|June 16, 2009
Summary
Inverted colloidal crystal (ICC) scaffolds enable controlled spheroid size for studying cell function. This research clarifies how spheroid size impacts liver cell functions, aiding drug discovery and cell biology.
Area of Science:
- Biotechnology
- Cell Biology
- Tissue Engineering
Background:
- Multicellular spheroids offer advanced control over ex vivo tissue morphology and function.
- Understanding spheroid size dependence is crucial for applications in drug discovery and cell biology.
- Existing methods lack systematic tools to evaluate the impact of spheroid diameter on cellular processes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To introduce inverted colloidal crystal (ICC) scaffolds for producing controlled-size spheroids.
- To systematically evaluate the dependence of liver-specific functions on spheroid diameter.
- To investigate the underlying mechanisms contributing to size-dependent cellular functions.
Main Methods:
- Utilized inverted colloidal crystal (ICC) scaffolds for high-yield, uniform spheroid production in 96-well plates.
- Cultured HepG2 hepatocyte spheroids of varying diameters (46.5–151.6 µm).
- Assessed liver-specific functions, including albumin production and CYP450 activity, using optical monitoring.
Main Results:
- Demonstrated ICC scaffolds' ability to generate spheroids with morphological similarities to liver tissue.
- Observed clear trends in albumin production and CYP450 activity correlating with spheroid diameter.
- Identified diffusion processes and cellular aggregation as key factors influencing metabolic activity in spheroids.
Conclusions:
- ICC scaffolds provide a valuable tool for systematic spheroid size-dependent studies.
- Spheroid size significantly impacts liver-specific functions, driven by diffusion and aggregation effects.
- The findings and scaffolds are applicable to various cell types for broader biological research.
