Integration of Bioinspired Fibrous Strands with 3D Spheroids for Environmental Hazard Monitoring

Area of Science:

• * Biotechnology and In Vitro Toxicology
• * Environmental Science and Ecotoxicology

Background:

• * Current 3D cell culture methods have limitations in generating functional cell spheroids.
• * Reducing animal experimentation is a key goal in toxicological and environmental studies.

Purpose of the Study:

• * To develop and validate a unique 3D cell culture platform using bioinspired strands of electrospun nanofibers (BSeNs) and aquatic cell lines.
• * To assess the platform's efficacy in mimicking in vivo conditions for toxicological assessments.

Main Methods:

• * Development of a 3D culture platform incorporating BSeNs with zebrafish liver cell lines.
• * Utilized in vitro assays including whole transcriptome sequencing and reproductive toxicity testing.
• * Evaluated responses to environmental endocrine-disrupting chemicals (e.g., 17β-Estradiol, BPA).

Main Results:

• * BSeNs significantly improved liver and reproductive functions in 3D zebrafish liver cell cultures.
• * Optimized cultures demonstrated results comparable to fish embryo acute toxicity (FET) tests.
• * The platform showed intrinsic functions and xenobiotic metabolism similar to zebrafish embryos.

Conclusions:

• * Bioinspired materials mimicking the extracellular matrix (ECM) can create efficient 3D cell cultures with intrinsic functions.
• * This novel 3D culture model serves as a promising alternative for in vivo toxicological and eco-environmental assessments.
• * The platform offers a closer analog to in vivo conditions for evaluating chemical exposure impacts.