Thayer School of Engineering, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire.
Department of Mechanical Engineering and Mechanics, Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Physiology (Bethesda). 2017 Jul;32(4):266-277. doi: 10.1152/physiol.00036.2016.
Cell culture has become an indispensable tool to help uncover fundamental biophysical and biomolecular mechanisms by which cells assemble into tissues and organs, how these tissues function, and how that function becomes disrupted in disease. Cell culture is now widely used in biomedical research, tissue engineering, regenerative medicine, and industrial practices. Although flat, two-dimensional (2D) cell culture has predominated, recent research has shifted toward culture using three-dimensional (3D) structures, and more realistic biochemical and biomechanical microenvironments. Nevertheless, in 3D cell culture, many challenges remain, including the tissue-tissue interface, the mechanical microenvironment, and the spatiotemporal distributions of oxygen, nutrients, and metabolic wastes. Here, we review 2D and 3D cell culture methods, discuss advantages and limitations of these techniques in modeling physiologically and pathologically relevant processes, and suggest directions for future research.
细胞培养已成为一种不可或缺的工具，可以帮助揭示细胞如何组装成组织和器官的基本生物物理和生物分子机制、这些组织如何发挥功能以及功能在疾病中是如何被破坏的。细胞培养现在广泛应用于生物医学研究、组织工程、再生医学和工业实践中。尽管平面、二维（2D）细胞培养占据主导地位，但最近的研究已经转向使用三维（3D）结构以及更真实的生化和生物力学微环境的培养。然而，在 3D 细胞培养中，仍然存在许多挑战，包括组织-组织界面、力学微环境以及氧气、营养物质和代谢废物的时空分布。在这里，我们回顾了 2D 和 3D 细胞培养方法，讨论了这些技术在模拟生理和病理相关过程中的优缺点，并为未来的研究提出了方向。
