School of Biology and Environmental Sciences, University College Dublin Science Centre, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland.
Cell Tissue Res. 2013 Apr;352(1):123-31. doi: 10.1007/s00441-012-1441-5. Epub 2012 May 22.
Life science research focuses on deciphering the biochemical mechanisms that regulate cell proliferation and function and largely depends on the use of tissue culture methods in which cells are grown on two-dimensional hard plastic or glass surfaces. However, the flat surface of the tissue culture plate represents a poor topological approximation of the complex three-dimensional (3D) architecture of a tissue or organ composed of various cell types, extracellular matrix (ECM) and interstitial fluids. Moreover, if we consider a cell as a perfectly defined volume, flattened cells have full access to the environment and limited cell-to-cell contact. However if the cell is a cube in a simple cuboidal epithelium, then its access to the lumen is limited to one face, with the opposite face facing the basal membrane and the remaining four faces lying in close contact with neighbouring cells. This is of great importance when considering the access of viruses and bacteria to the cell surface, the excretion of soluble factors or proteins or the signalling within or between cells. This short review discusses various cell culture approaches to improve the simulation of the 3D environment of cells.
生命科学研究主要集中在破译调节细胞增殖和功能的生化机制上，在这项研究中，很大程度上依赖于使用组织培养方法，即将细胞种植在二维硬塑料或玻璃表面上。然而，组织培养板的平坦表面在拓扑结构上与由各种细胞类型、细胞外基质（ECM）和细胞间隙液组成的复杂三维（3D）组织或器官相差甚远。此外，如果我们将细胞视为一个完美定义的体积，那么细胞会完全接触到环境，细胞间的接触也会受到限制。然而，如果细胞是简单的立方上皮中的一个正方体，那么它接触腔的面积就会受到限制，只有一个面与腔相通，而相对的另一面则与基膜相对，其余四个面则与相邻的细胞紧密接触。当考虑病毒和细菌进入细胞表面、可溶性因子或蛋白质的排泄或细胞内或细胞间的信号转导时，这一点非常重要。这篇简短的综述讨论了各种细胞培养方法，以改善对细胞 3D 环境的模拟。
