Studying cell-cell communication in co-culture.

Heterotypic and homotypic cellular interactions are essential for biological function, and co-culture models are versatile tools for investigating these cellular interactions in vitro. Physiologically relevant co-culture models have been used to elucidate the effects of cell-cell physical contact and/or secreted factors, as well as the influence of substrate geometry and interaction scale on cell response. Identifying the relative contribution of each cell population to co-culture is often experimentally challenging for these cellular interactions studies. In this issue of , Hamilton [1] report on a hydrogel-based co-culture system, that enables paracrine interactions. A simple and elegant method for enzymatic separation of cell populations post co-culture is introduced, thereby enhancing the ease for post-culture analysis of the effects of co-culture on individual cell populations.