Mimicking angiogenic microenvironment of alveolar soft-part sarcoma in a microfluidic coculture vasculature chip.

Alveolar soft-part sarcoma (ASPS) is a slow-growing soft tissue sarcoma with high mortality rates that affects adolescents and young adults. ASPS resists conventional chemotherapy; thus, decades of research have elucidated pathogenic mechanisms driving the disease, particularly its angiogenic capacities. Integrated blood vessels that are rich in pericytes (PCs) and metastatic potential are distinctive of ASPS. To mimic ASPS angiogenic microenvironment, a microfluidic coculture vasculature chip has been developed as a three-dimensional (3D) spheroid composed of mouse ASPS, a layer of PCs, and endothelial cells (ECs). This ASPS-on-a-chip provided functional and morphological similarity as the in vivo mouse model to elucidate the cellular crosstalk within the tumor vasculature before metastasis. We successfully reproduce ASPS spheroid and leaky vessels representing the unique tumor vasculature to assess effective drug delivery into the core of a solid tumor. Furthermore, this ASPS angiogenesis model enabled us to investigate the role of proteins in the intracellular trafficking of bioactive signals from ASPS to PCs and ECs during angiogenesis, including Rab27a and Sytl2. The results can help to develop drugs targeting the crosstalk between ASPS and the adjacent cells in the tumoral microenvironment.

Online monitoring of epithelial barrier kinetics and cell detachment during cisplatin-induced toxicity of renal proximal tubule cells.

Real-time and non-invasive assessment of tissue health is crucial for maximizing the potential of microphysiological systems (MPS) for drug-induced nephrotoxicity screening. Although impedance has been widely considered as a measure of the barrier function, it has not been incorporated to detect cell detachment in MPS with top and bottom microfluidic channels separated by a porous membrane. During cell delamination from the porous membrane, the resistance between both channels decreases, while capacitance increases, allowing the detection of such detachment. Previously reported concepts have solely attributed the decrease in the resistance to the distortion of the barrier function, ignoring the resistance and capacitance changes due to cell detachment. Here, we report a two-channel MPS with integrated indium tin oxide (ITO) electrodes capable of measuring impedance in real time. The trans-epithelial electrical resistance (TEER) and tissue reactance (capacitance) were extracted from the impedance profiles. We attributed the anomalous initial increase observed in TEER, upon cisplatin administration, to the distortion of tight junctions. Cell detachment was captured by sudden jumps in capacitance. TEER profiles illuminated the effects of cisplatin and cimetidine treatments in a dose-dependent and polarity-dependent manner. The correspondence between TEER and barrier function was validated for a continuous tissue using the capacitance profiles. These results demonstrate that capacitance can be used as a real-time and non-invasive indicator of confluence and will support the accuracy of the drug-induced cytotoxicity assessed by TEER profiles in the two-channel MPS for the barrier function of a cell monolayer.

Targeted permeabilization of the cell wall and extraction of charged molecules from single cells in intact plant clusters using a focused electric field.

The extraction of cellular contents from plant cells covered with cell walls remains a challenge, as it is physically hindered by the cell wall. We present a new microfluidic approach that leverages an intense pulsed electric field for permeabilizing the cell wall and a focused DC electric field for extracting the cellular contents selectively from a few targeted cells in a cluster of intact plant cells. We coupled the approach with on-chip fluorescence quantification of extracted molecules leveraging isotachophoresis as well as off-chip reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction detecting extracted mRNA molecules. Our approach offers a workflow of about 5 min, isolating a cluster of intact plant cells, permeabilizing the cell wall, selectively extracting cytosolic molecules from a few targeted cells in the cluster, and outputting them to off-chip analyses without any enzymatic reactions. We anticipate that this approach will create a new opportunity to explore plant biology through less biased data realized by the rapid extraction of molecules from intact plant clusters.

Mesenchymal glioblastoma-induced mature de-novo vessel formation of vascular endothelial cells in a microfluidic device.

High vascularization is a biological characteristic of glioblastoma (GBM); however, an in-vitro experimental model to verify the mechanism and physiological role of vasculogenesis in GBM is not well-established. Recently, we established a self-organizing vasculogenic model using human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) co-cultivated with human lung fibroblasts (hLFs). Here, we exploited this system to establish a realistic model of vasculogenesis in GBM. We developed two polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) devices, a doughnut-hole dish and a 5-lane microfluidic device to observe the contact-independent effects of glioblastoma cells on HUVECs. We tested five patient-derived and five widely used GBM cell lines. Confocal fluorescence microscopy was used to observe the morphological changes in Red Fluorescent Protein (RFP)-HUVECs and fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-dextran perfusion. The genetic and expression properties of GBM cell lines were analyzed. The doughnut-hole dish assay revealed KNS1451 as the only cells to induce HUVEC transformation to vessel-like structures, similar to hLFs. The 5-lane device assay demonstrated that KNS1451 promoted the formation of a vascular network that was fully perfused, revealing the functioning luminal construction. Microarray analysis revealed that KNS1451 is a mesenchymal subtype of GBM. Using a patient-derived mesenchymal GBM cell line, mature de-novo vessel formation could be induced in HUVECs by contact-independent co-culture with GBM in a microfluidic device. These results support the development of a novel in vitro research model and provide novel insights in the neovasculogenic mechanism of GBM and may potentially facilitate the future detection of unknown molecular targets.

Growth rate-dependent flexural rigidity of microtubules influences pattern formation in collective motion.

BACKGROUND: Microtubules (MTs) are highly dynamic tubular cytoskeleton filaments that are essential for cellular morphology and intracellular transport. In vivo, the flexural rigidity of MTs can be dynamically regulated depending on their intracellular function. In the in vitro reconstructed MT-motor system, flexural rigidity affects MT gliding behaviors and trajectories. Despite the importance of flexural rigidity for both biological functions and in vitro applications, there is no clear interpretation of the regulation of MT flexural rigidity, and the results of many studies are contradictory. These discrepancies impede our understanding of the regulation of MT flexural rigidity, thereby challenging its precise manipulation. RESULTS: Here, plausible explanations for these discrepancies are provided and a new method to evaluate the MT rigidity is developed. Moreover, a new relationship of the dynamic and mechanic of MTs is revealed that MT flexural rigidity decreases through three phases with the growth rate increases, which offers a method of designing MT flexural rigidity by regulating its growth rate. To test the validity of this method, the gliding performances of MTs with different flexural rigidities polymerized at different growth rates are examined. The growth rate-dependent flexural rigidity of MTs is experimentally found to influence the pattern formation in collective motion using gliding motility assay, which is further validated using machine learning. CONCLUSION: Our study establishes a robust quantitative method for measurement and design of MT flexural rigidity to study its influences on MT gliding assays, collective motion, and other biological activities in vitro. The new relationship about the growth rate and rigidity of MTs updates current concepts on the dynamics and mechanics of MTs and provides comparable data for investigating the regulation mechanism of MT rigidity in vivo in the future.

Distinct Kinetics in Electrophoretic Extraction of Cytoplasmic RNA from Single Cells.

The physical fractionation of cytoplasmic versus nuclear components of cells is a key step for studying the subcellular localization of molecules. The application of an electric field is an emerging method for subcellular fractionation of proteins and nucleic acids from single cells. However, the multibiophysical process that involves electrical lysis of cytoplasmic membranes, electrophoresis, and diffusion of charged molecules remains unclear. Here we study RNA dynamics in single cells during the electrophoretic extraction via a microfluidic system that enables stringent fractionation of the subcellular components leveraging a focused electric field. We identified two distinct kinetics in the extraction of RNA molecules, which were respectively associated with soluble RNA and mitochondrial RNA. We show that the extraction kinetics of soluble RNA is dominated by electrophoresis over diffusion and has a time constant of 0.15 s. Interestingly, the extraction of mitochondrial RNA showed unexpected heterogeneity in the extraction with slower kinetics (3.8 s), while reproducibly resulting in the extraction of 98.9% ± 2% after 40 s. Together, we uncover that the microfluidic system uniquely offers length bias-free fractionation of RNA molecules for quantitative analysis of correlations among subcellular compartments by exploiting the homogeneous electrophoretic properties of RNA.

Oxygen consumption rate of tumour spheroids during necrotic-like core formation.

Hypoxia is one of the major hallmarks of solid tumours and is associated with the poor prognosis of various cancers. A multicellular aggregate, termed a spheroid, has been used as a tumour model with a necrotic-like core for more than 45 years. Oxygen metabolism in spheroids has been studied using phosphorescence quenching and oxygen-sensitive electrodes. However, these conventional methods require chemical labelling and physical insertion of the electrode into each spheroid, which may be functionally and structurally disruptive. Scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM) can non-invasively analyse oxygen metabolism. Here, we used SECM to investigate whether the changes of the internal structure of spheroids affect the oxygen metabolism. We investigated the oxygen consumption rate (OCR) of MCF-7 breast tumour spheroids with and without a necrotic-like core. A numerical simulation was used to describe a method for estimating the OCR of spheroids that settled at the bottom of the conventional culture plates. The OCR per spheroid volume decreased with increasing spheroid radius, indicating the limitation of the oxygen supply to the core of the MCF-7 spheroid. Formation of the necrotic-like core did not affect the oxygen metabolism significantly, implying that the core had minimal contribution to the OCR even before necrosis occurred. OCR analysis using SECM non-invasively monitors the change of oxygen metabolism in tumour spheroids. The approach is promising to evaluate various three-dimensional culture models.

Spatial Patterning of Kinesin-1 and Dynein Motor Proteins in an In Vitro Assay using Aqueous Two-Phase Systems (ATPS).

Cooperativity of motor proteins is essential for intracellular transport. Although their motion is unidirectional, they often cause bidirectional movement by different types of motors as seen in organelles. However, in vitro assessments of such cellular functions are still inadequate owing to the experimental limitations in precisely patterning multiple motors. Here, we present an approach to immobilize two motor proteins, kinesin-1 and dynein, using the aqueous two-phase system (ATPS) made of poly(ethylene glycol) and dextran polymers. The negligible influence of polymer solutions on the attachment and velocity of motor proteins ensures the compatibility of using ATPS as the patterning technique. The selective fixation of kinesin and dynein was assessed using polarity-marked microtubules (PMMTs). Our experimental results show that on a patterned kinesin surface, 72% of PMMTs display minus-end leading motility, while on a dynein surface, 79% of PMMTs display plus-end leading motility. This work offers a universal and biocompatible method to pattern motor proteins of different classes at the nanoscale, providing a new route to study different cellular functions performed by molecular motors such as the formation of mitotic spindles.

Electrical Lysis and RNA Extraction from Single Cells Fixed by Dithiobis(succinimidyl propionate).

We present a microfluidic method for electrical lysis and RNA extraction from single fixed cells leveraging reversible cross-linker dithiobis(succinimidyl propionate) (DSP). Our microfluidic system captures a single DSP-fixed cell at a hydrodynamic trap, reverse-cross-links the DSP molecules on a chip with dithiothreitol, lyses the plasma membrane via electrical field, and extracts cytoplasmic RNA with isotachophoresis-aided nucleic acids extraction. All of the on-chip processes complete in less than 5 min. We demonstrated the method using K562 leukemia cells and benchmarked the performance of RNA extraction with reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction. We also demonstrated the integration of our method with single-cell RNA sequencing.

Pick-and-Place Assembly of Single Microtubules.

Intracellular transport is affected by the filament network in the densely packed cytoplasm. Biophysical studies focusing on intracellular transport based on microtubule-kinesin system frequently use in vitro motility assays, which are performed either on individual microtubules or on random (or simple) microtubule networks. Assembling intricate networks with high flexibility requires the manipulation of 25 nm diameter microtubules individually, which can be achieved through the use of pick-and-place assembly. Although widely used to assemble tiny objects, pick-and-place is not a common practice for the manipulation of biological materials. Using the high-level handling capabilities of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technology, tweezers are designed and fabricated to pick and place single microtubule filaments. Repeated picking and placing cycles provide a multilayered and multidirectional microtubule network even for different surface topographies. On-demand assembly of microtubules forms crossings at desired angles for biophysical studies as well as complex networks that can be used as nanotransport systems.

Mathematical modeling for meshwork formation of endothelial cells in fibrin gels.

Vasculogenesis is the earliest process in development for spontaneous formation of a primitive capillary network from endothelial progenitor cells. When human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) are cultured on Matrigel, they spontaneously form a network structure which is widely used as an in vitro model of vasculogenesis. Previous studies indicated that chemotaxis or gel deformation was involved in spontaneous pattern formation. In our study, we analyzed the mechanism of vascular pattern formation using a different system, meshwork formation by HUVECs embedded in fibrin gels. Unlike the others, this experimental system resulted in a perfusable endothelial network in vitro. We quantitatively observed the dynamics of endothelial cell protrusion and developed a mathematical model for one-dimensional dynamics. We then extended the one-dimensional model to two-dimensions. The model showed that random searching by endothelial cells was sufficient to generate the observed network structure in fibrin gels.

Tissue culture on a chip: Developmental biology applications of self-organized capillary networks in microfluidic devices.

Organ culture systems are used to elucidate the mechanisms of pattern formation in developmental biology. Various organ culture techniques have been used, but the lack of microcirculation in such cultures impedes the long-term maintenance of larger tissues. Recent advances in microfluidic devices now enable us to utilize self-organized perfusable capillary networks in organ cultures. In this review, we will overview past approaches to organ culture and current technical advances in microfluidic devices, and discuss possible applications of microfluidics towards the study of developmental biology.

Opto-combinatorial indexing enables high-content transcriptomics by linking cell images and transcriptomes.

We introduce a simple integrated analysis method that links cellular phenotypic behaviour with single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) by utilizing a combination of optical indices from cells and hydrogel beads. With our method, the combinations, referred to as joint colour codes, enable the link via matching the optical combinations measured by conventional epi-fluorescence microscopy with the concatenated DNA molecular barcodes created by cell-hydrogel bead pairs and sequenced by next-generation sequencing. We validated our approach by demonstrating an accurate link between the cell image and scRNA-seq with mixed species experiments, longitudinal cell tagging by electroporation and lipofection, and gene expression analysis. Furthermore, we extended our approach to multiplexed chemical transcriptomics, which enabled us to identify distinct phenotypic behaviours in HeLa cells treated with various concentrations of paclitaxel, and determine the corresponding gene regulation associated with the formation of a multipolar spindle.

Deciphering potential vascularization factors of on-chip co-cultured hiPSC-derived cerebral organoids.

The lack of functional vascular system in stem cell-derived cerebral organoids (COs) limits their utility in modeling developmental processes and disease pathologies. Unlike other organs, brain vascularization is poorly understood, which makes it particularly difficult to mimic in vitro. Although several attempts have been made to vascularize COs, complete vascularization leading to functional capillary network development has only been achieved via transplantation into a mouse brain. Understanding the cues governing neurovascular communication is therefore imperative for establishing an efficient in vitro system for vascularized cerebral organoids that can emulate human brain development. Here, we used a multidisciplinary approach combining microfluidics, organoids, and transcriptomics to identify molecular changes in angiogenic programs that impede the successful in vitro vascularization of human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived COs. First, we established a microfluidic cerebral organoid (CO)-vascular bed (VB) co-culture system and conducted transcriptome analysis on the outermost cell layer of COs cultured on the preformed VB. Results revealed coordinated regulation of multiple pro-angiogenic factors and their downstream targets. The VEGF-HIF1A-AKT network was identified as a central pathway involved in the angiogenic response of cerebral organoids to the preformed VB. Among the 324 regulated genes associated with angiogenesis, six transcripts represented significantly regulated growth factors with the capacity to influence angiogenic activity during co-culture. Subsequent on-chip experiments demonstrated the angiogenic and vasculogenic potential of cysteine-rich angiogenic inducer 61 (CYR61) and hepatoma-derived growth factor (HDGF) as potential enhancers of organoid vascularization. Our study provides the first global analysis of cerebral organoid response to three-dimensional microvasculature for in vitro vascularization.

Efficient proximal tubule-on-chip model from hiPSC-derived kidney organoids for functional analysis of renal transporters.

Renal transporters play critical roles in predicting potential drug-drug interactions. However, current in vitro models often fail to adequately express these transporters, particularly solute carrier proteins, including organic anion transporters (OAT1/3), and organic cation transporter 2 (OCT2). Here, we developed a hiPSC-derived kidney organoids-based proximal tubule-on-chip (OPTC) model that emulates in vivo renal physiology to assess transporter function. Compared to chips based on immortalized cells, OPTC derived from the two most commonly used differentiation protocols exhibited significant improvement in expression level and polarity of OAT1/3 and OCT2. Hence, the OPTC demonstrates enhanced functionality in efflux and uptake assessments, and nephrotoxicity. Furthermore, these functionalities are diminished upon adding inhibitors during substrate-inhibitor interactions, which were closer to in vivo observations. Overall, these results support that OPTC can reliably assess the role of renal transporters in drug transport and nephrotoxicity, paving the way for personalized models to assess renal transport and disease modeling.

SARS-CoV-2-induced disruption of a vascular bed in a microphysiological system caused by type-I interferon from bronchial organoids.

Blood vessels show various COVID-19-related conditions including thrombosis and cytokine propagation. Existing in vitro blood vessel models cannot represent the consequent changes in the vascular structure or determine the initial infection site, making it difficult to evaluate how epithelial and endothelial tissues are damaged. Here, we developed a microphysiological system (MPS) that co-culture the bronchial organoids and the vascular bed to analyze infection site and interactions. In this system, virus-infected organoids caused damage in vascular structure. However, vasculature was not damaged or infected when the virus was directly introduced to vascular bed. The knockout of interferon-related genes and inhibition of the JAK/STAT pathway reduced the vascular damage, indicating the protective effect of interferon response suppression. The results demonstrate selective infection of bronchial epithelial cells and vascular damage by cytokines and also indicate the applicability of MPS to investigate how the infection influences vascular structure and functions.

Perfluoropolyether-Based Gut-Liver-on-a-Chip for the Evaluation of First-Pass Metabolism and Oral Bioavailability of Drugs.

In the evolving field of drug discovery and development, multiorgans-on-a-chip and microphysiological systems are gaining popularity owing to their ability to emulate in vivo biological environments. Among the various gut-liver-on-a-chip systems for studying oral drug absorption, the chip developed in this study stands out with two distinct features: incorporation of perfluoropolyether (PFPE) to effectively mitigate drug sorption and a unique enterohepatic single-passage system, which simplifies the analysis of first-pass metabolism and oral bioavailability. By introducing a bolus drug injection into the liver compartment, hepatic extraction alone could be evaluated, further enhancing our estimation of intestinal availability. In a study on midazolam (MDZ), PFPE-based chips showed more than 20-times the appearance of intact MDZ in the liver compartment effluent compared to PDMS-based counterparts. Notably, saturation of hepatic metabolism at higher concentrations was confirmed by observations when the dose was reduced from 200 µM to 10 µM. This result was further emphasized when the metabolism was significantly inhibited by the coadministration of ketoconazole. Our chip, which is designed to minimize the dead volume between the gut and liver compartments, is adept at sensitively observing the saturation of metabolism and the effect of inhibitors. Using genome-edited CYP3A4/UGT1A1-expressing Caco-2 cells, the estimates for intestinal and hepatic availabilities were 0.96 and 0.82, respectively; these values are higher than the known human in vivo values. Although the metabolic activity in each compartment can be further improved, this gut-liver-on-a-chip can not only be used to evaluate oral bioavailability but also to carry out individual assessment of both intestinal and hepatic availability.

Specific transport of target molecules by motor proteins in microfluidic channels.

Direct transport powered by motor proteins can alleviate the challenges presented by miniaturization of microfluidic systems. There have been several recent attempts to build motor-protein-driven transport systems based on simple capturing or transport mechanisms. However, to achieve a multifunctional device for practical applications, a more complex sorting/transport system should be realized. Herein, the proof of concept of a sorting device employing selective capture of distinct target molecules and transport of the sorted molecules to different predefined directions is presented. By combining the bottom-up functionality of biological systems with the top-down handling capabilities of micro-electromechanical systems technology, highly selective molecular recognition and motor-protein-based transport is integrated in a microfluidic channel network.

Suspended microtubules demonstrate high sensitivity and low experimental variability in kinesin bead assay.

Microtubule (MT) based intraneuronal transport deficiency is directly linked to neurodegeneration. Hence, the development of a reliable and sensitive in vitro approach permitting efficient analysis of MT-based transport is essential for our understanding of the underlying molecular mechanisms that may lead to novel therapeutic approaches for treating neurodegenerative diseases. Here, based on previously developed reconstructed MT-kinesin assay, we propose its "suspended" modification that shows higher sensitivity and lower experimental variability.

Electrochemical sensing of oxygen metabolism for a three-dimensional cultured model with biomimetic vascular flow.

Microphysiological systems (MPSs) with three-dimensional (3D) cultured models have attracted considerable interest because of their potential to mimic human health and disease conditions. Recent MPSs have shown significant advancements in engineering perfusable vascular networks integrated with 3D culture models, realizing a more physiological environment in vitro; however, a sensing system that can monitor their activity under biomimetic vascular flow is lacking. We designed an open-top microfluidic device with sensor capabilities and demonstrated its application in analyzing oxygen metabolism in vascularized 3D tissue models. We first validated the platform by using human lung fibroblast (hLF) spheroids. Then, we applied the platform to a patient-derived cancer organoid and evaluated the changes in oxygen metabolism during drug administration through the vascular network. We found that the platform could integrate a perfusable vascular network with 3D cultured cells, and the electrochemical sensor could detect the change in oxygen metabolism in a quantitative, non-invasive, and real-time manner. This platform would become a monitoring system for 3D cultured cells integrated with a perfusable vascular network.