Bednarek Radoslaw
Department of Cytobiology and Proteomics, Medical University of Lodz, 92-215 Lodz, Poland.
Methods Protoc. 2022 Feb 9;5(1):17. doi: 10.3390/mps5010017.
Cell monolayers, including endothelial and epithelial cells, play crucial roles in regulating the transport of biomolecules to underlying tissues and structures via intercellular junctions. Moreover, the monolayers form a semipermeable barrier across which leukocyte transmigration is tightly regulated. The inflammatory cytokines can disrupt the epithelial and endothelial permeability, thus the reduced barrier integrity is a hallmark of epithelial and endothelial dysfunction related with numerous pathological conditions, including cancer-related inflammation. Therefore, the assessment of barrier function is critical in in vitro models of barrier-forming tissues. This review summarizes the commercially available in vitro systems used to measure the permeability of cellular monolayers. The presented techniques are separated in two large groups: macromolecular tracer flux assays, and electrical impedance measurement-based permeability assays. The presented techniques are briefly described and compared.
细胞单层,包括内皮细胞和上皮细胞,在通过细胞间连接调节生物分子向下方组织和结构的转运中起着关键作用。此外,这些单层形成一个半透屏障,白细胞跨膜迁移在该屏障上受到严格调控。炎性细胞因子可破坏上皮和内皮的通透性,因此屏障完整性降低是与包括癌症相关炎症在内的众多病理状况相关的上皮和内皮功能障碍的一个标志。因此,在形成屏障组织的体外模型中评估屏障功能至关重要。本综述总结了用于测量细胞单层通透性的市售体外系统。所介绍的技术分为两大类:大分子示踪剂通量测定法和基于电阻抗测量的通透性测定法。对所介绍的技术进行了简要描述和比较。