Research Center "E. Piaggio", University of Pisa, Largo L. Lazzarino 1, 56122, Pisa, Italy.
Department of Information Engineering, University of Pisa, Via G. Caruso 16, 56122, Pisa, Italy.
Ann Biomed Eng. 2023 Dec;51(12):2923-2933. doi: 10.1007/s10439-023-03361-4. Epub 2023 Sep 15.
In vitro platforms such as bioreactors and microfluidic devices are commonly designed to engineer tissue models as well as to replicate the crosstalk between cells and microorganisms hosted in the human body. These systems promote nutrient supply and waste removal through culture medium recirculation; consequently, they intrinsically expose cellular structures to shear stress, be it a desired mechanical stimulus to drive the cell fate or a potential inhibitor for the model maturation. Assessing the impact of shear stress on cellular or microbial cultures thus represents a crucial step to define proper environmental conditions for in vitro models. In this light, the aim of this study was to develop a millifluidic device enabling to generate fully controlled shear stress profiles for quantitatively probing its influence on tissue or bacterial models, overcoming the limitations of previous reports proposing similar devices. Relying on this millifluidic tool, we present a systematic methodology to test how adherent cellular structures react to shear forces, which was applied to the case of microbial biofilms as a proof of concept. The results obtained suggest our approach as a suitable testbench to evaluate culture conditions in terms of shear stress faced by cells or microorganisms.
体外平台，如生物反应器和微流控设备，通常被设计用于构建组织模型以及复制人体中细胞和微生物之间的串扰。这些系统通过培养基再循环来促进营养供应和废物去除；因此，细胞结构会受到剪切力的影响，无论是驱动细胞命运的所需机械刺激还是模型成熟的潜在抑制剂。因此，评估剪切力对细胞或微生物培养物的影响是定义体外模型适当环境条件的关键步骤。有鉴于此，本研究的目的是开发一种微流控装置，能够生成完全可控的剪切力曲线，以定量研究其对组织或细菌模型的影响，从而克服以前提出类似装置的研究报告的局限性。基于这种微流控工具，我们提出了一种系统的方法来测试贴壁细胞结构对剪切力的反应，这一方法在微生物生物膜的情况下得到了验证。所获得的结果表明，我们的方法适用于评估细胞或微生物所面临的剪切力的培养条件。
