Speaker
Description
2D (two-dimensional) monolayers of Caco-2 cells, on Transwell inserts, have been widely employed to assess drug permeability and absorption of drugs across the intestine. However, 3D (three-dimensional) in vitro tissue models are more physiological relevant as they can simulate interactions with the extracellular matrix and, therefore, better recapitulate the complex in vivo intestinal tissue environment [1–5]. Thus, the characteristics of these Caco-2 spheroids, including their barrier function, potential changes in cell phenotype and transport function, need to be well-understood. With this motivation, we designed a 3D-printed device to culture geometrically controlled Caco-2 spheroids. Furthermore, we developed the device to enable the perfusion of medium to overcome the limitation in cell-construct size due to mass exchange. We conduct a comparative study to evaluate static and dynamic conditions to validate the advantage of spheroid culture with perfusion. This alternative in vitro intestinal model will serve as a valuable system to expedite drug screening as well as to study intestinal transporter function.
Acknowledgements
This project is funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie, the Organoids for Virus Research (OrganoVIR) project (Grant agreement No. 812673) and the European Commission’s Next Generation Organ-On-Chip Call, GUTVIBRATIONS (Grant Agreement No: DT-NMBP-23).
References
1. Samy K, PhD Thesis, University of California, Berkeley, 2019.
2. Miyakawa M, et al., International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 21:1–19, 2020.
3. Gheytanchi E, et al., Cancer Cell International. 21, 2021.
4. Elamin E, et al., PLoS ONE, 7, 2012.
5. Rainaldi G, et al., Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology, 4, 2016.
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