Department of Complex Tissue Engineering, MERLN Institute for Technology-Inspired Regenerative Medicine, Maastricht University, 6229 ER, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
Adv Mater. 2019 Apr;31(17):e1805764. doi: 10.1002/adma.201805764. Epub 2019 Feb 14.
Developmental biology has advanced the understanding of the intricate and dynamic processes involved in the formation of an organism from a single cell. However, many gaps remain in the knowledge of embryonic development, especially regarding tissue morphogenesis. A possible approach to mimic such phenomena uses pluripotent stem cells in in vitro morphogenetic models. Herein, these systems are summarized with emphasis on the ability to better manipulate and control cellular interfaces with either liquid or solid materials using microengineered tools, which is critical for attaining deeper insights into pattern formation and stem cell differentiation during organogenesis. The role of conventional and customized cell-culture systems in supporting important advances in the field of morphogenesis is discussed, and the fascinating role that material sciences and microengineering currently play and are expected to play in the future is highlighted. In conclusion, it is proffered that continued microfluidics innovations when applied to morphogenesis promise to provide important insights to advance many multidisciplinary fields, including regenerative medicine.
发育生物学增进了人们对从单个细胞形成生物体所涉及的复杂而动态过程的理解。然而，胚胎发育的知识仍有许多空白，特别是在组织形态发生方面。一种可能的方法是使用多能干细胞在体外形态发生模型中模拟这些现象。本文总结了这些系统，重点介绍了使用微工程工具更好地操纵和控制液体或固体材料与细胞界面的能力，这对于深入了解器官发生过程中的模式形成和干细胞分化至关重要。讨论了传统和定制的细胞培养系统在支持形态发生领域重要进展方面的作用，并强调了材料科学和微工程目前所扮演的以及未来有望扮演的迷人角色。总之，本文认为，将微流控创新应用于形态发生有望提供重要的见解，从而推动包括再生医学在内的许多多学科领域的发展。
