Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Health Science, Korea University, Seoul, Korea.
Anal Chem. 2011 Nov 15;83(22):8454-9. doi: 10.1021/ac202170e. Epub 2011 Oct 28.
Microfluidic cell culture assays are versatile tools for studying cell migration, particularly angiogenesis. Such assays can deliver precisely controlled linear gradients of chemical stimuli to cultured cells in a microfluidic channel, offering excellent optical resolution and in situ monitoring of cellular morphogenesis in response to a gradient. Microfluidic cell culture assays provide a chemical gradient subject to molecular diffusion, although cellular metabolism can perturb it. The actual gradient perturbed by cells has not been precisely described in the context of regulated cellular morphogenesis. We modeled the chemical gradient in a microfluidic channel by simulating the analyte(VEGF) distribution during cellular interactions. The results were experimentally verified by monitoring sprouting angiogenic response from a monolayer of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (hUVECs) into a type 1 collagen scaffold. The simulation provided a basis for understanding a real distribution of the analyte interrupted by cells in microfluidic device. The new protocol enables one to quantify the morphogenesis of hUVECs under a flat, less-steep, or steep gradient.
微流控细胞培养分析是研究细胞迁移的多功能工具，特别是血管生成。这种分析可以在微流控通道中向培养的细胞提供精确控制的线性化学刺激梯度，提供出色的光学分辨率，并原位监测细胞形态发生对梯度的反应。微流控细胞培养分析提供了受分子扩散影响的化学梯度，尽管细胞代谢可能会干扰它。在受调控的细胞形态发生的背景下，细胞实际干扰的梯度尚未得到精确描述。我们通过模拟细胞相互作用过程中分析物（VEGF）的分布来模拟微流控通道中的化学梯度。通过监测单层人脐静脉内皮细胞（hUVEC）向 I 型胶原支架中发芽的血管生成反应，对结果进行了实验验证。该模拟为理解微流控装置中被细胞中断的分析物的真实分布提供了基础。新方案使人们能够量化在平面、较不陡峭或陡峭梯度下 hUVEC 的形态发生。
