Name: three-dimensional alginate-bead culture of human pituitary adenoma cells
Uploaded: 2016-02-18T15:00:00
Description: Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Three-dimensional Alginate-bead Culture of Human Pituitary Adenoma Cells at JoVE.com

We thank Mr. O. Rios for his technical assistance.

This study was approved for the use of human material by the local ethical committees of the Medical Institution and the Center of Research and Advance Studies of the National Polytechnic Institute.
1. Tumor Sample Acquisition
<ol>
	<li>Obtain the pituitary adenoma tissue biopsy from a patient through a trans-sphenoidal surgical procedure14.</li>
	<li>Collect the pituitary adenoma sample and place it into a sterile glass bottle containing 50 ml of fresh 199 culture medium (M199) e...

<ol>
	<li>Tibbitt, M. W., Anseth, K. S. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Hydrogels+as+Extracellular+Matrix+Mimics+for+3D+Cell+Culture.">Hydrogels as Extracellular Matrix Mimics for 3D Cell Culture.</a> Biotechnol. Bioeng. 103 (4), 655-663 (2009).</li><li>Amsden, B., Turner, N. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Diffusion+characteristics+of+calcium+alginate+gels.">Diffusion characteristics of calcium alginate gels.</a> Biotechnol. Bioeng. 65 (5), 605-610 (1999).</li><li>Andersen, T., Strand, B., Formo, K., Alsberg, E., Christensen, B., Rauter, A. P., Lindhorst, T. K. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Alginates+as+biomaterials+in+tissue+engineering.">Alginates as biomaterials in tissue engineering.</a> Carbohydrate chemistry. Vol. 37, 227-258 (2012).</li><li>Jonitz, A., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Differentiation+capacity+of+human+chondrocytes+embedded+in+alginate+matrix.">Differentiation capacity of human chondrocytes embedded in alginate matrix.</a> Connect. Tissue. Res. 52 (6), 503-551 (2011).</li><li>Hill, E., Boontheekul, T., Mooney, D. J. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Designing+scaffolds+to+enhance+transplanted+myoblast+survival+and+migration.">Designing scaffolds to enhance transplanted myoblast survival and migration.</a> Tissue. Eng. 12 (5), 1295-1304 (2006).</li><li>Purcell, E. K., Singh, A., Kipke, D. R. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Alginate+composition+effects+on+a+neural+stem+cell-seeded+scaffold.">Alginate composition effects on a neural stem cell-seeded scaffold.</a> Tissue. Eng. Part. C. Methods. 15 (4), 541-550 (2009).</li><li>Wee, S., Gombotz, W. R. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Protein+release+from+alginate+matrices.">Protein release from alginate matrices.</a> Adv. Drug. Deliv. Rev. 31 (4), 267-285 (1998).</li><li>Tashjian, A. H. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Clonal+strains+of+hormone-producing+pituitary+cells.">Clonal strains of hormone-producing pituitary cells.</a> Methods. Enzymol. 58, 527-535 (1979).</li><li>Fasekas, I., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Characterization+of+human+pituitary+adenomas+in+cell+cultures+by+light+and+electron+microscopic+morphology+and+immunolabeling.">Characterization of human pituitary adenomas in cell cultures by light and electron microscopic morphology and immunolabeling.</a> Folia. Histochem. Cytobiol. 43 (2), 81-90 (2005).</li><li>Kohler, P. O., Bridson, W. E., Rayford, P. L., Kohler, S. E. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Hormone+Production+by+Human+Pituitary+Adenomas+in+Culture.">Hormone Production by Human Pituitary Adenomas in Culture.</a> Metabolism. 18 (9), 782-788 (1969).</li><li>Kletzkky, O. A., Marrs, R. P., Rundall, T. T., Weiss, M. H., Beierle, J. W. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Monolayer+and+suspension+culture+of+human+prolactin-secreting+pituitary+adenoma.">Monolayer and suspension culture of human prolactin-secreting pituitary adenoma.</a> Am. J. Obstet. Gynecol. 138 (6), 660-664 (1980).</li><li>Melmed, S., Odenheimer, D., Carlson, H. E., Hershman, J. M. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Establishment+of+functional+human+pituitary+tumor+cell+cultures.">Establishment of functional human pituitary tumor cell cultures.</a> In Vitro. 18 (1), 35-42 (1982).</li><li>Thompson, K. W., Vincent, M. M., Jensen, F. C., Price, R. T., Schapiro, E. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Production+of+hormones+by+human+anterior+pituitary+cells+in+serial+culture.">Production of hormones by human anterior pituitary cells in serial culture.</a> Proc. Soc. Exp. Biol. Med. 102 (2), 403-408 (1959).</li><li>Cappabianca, P., Cavallo, L. M., Solari, D., Stagno, V., Esposito, F., de Angelis, M. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Endoscopic+endonasal+surgery+for+pituitary+adenomas.">Endoscopic endonasal surgery for pituitary adenomas.</a> World neurosurg. 82 (6 Suppl), S3-S11 (2014).</li><li>Aplin, J., Curtis, A. S. G., Lackie, J. M. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Model+Matrices+for+Studing+Cell+Adhesion.">Model Matrices for Studing Cell Adhesion.</a> Measuring cell adhesion. , 110-111 (1991).</li><li>Guiraud, J. M., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Human+prolactin-producing+pituitary+adenomas+in+three-dimensional+culture.">Human prolactin-producing pituitary adenomas in three-dimensional culture.</a> In. Vitro. Cell. Dev. Biol. 27 (3), 188-190 (1991).</li><li>Ma, H. L., Hung, S. C., Lin, S. Y., Chen, Y. L., Lo, W. H. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Chondrogenesis+of+human+mesenchymal+stem+cells+encapsulated+in+alginate+beads.">Chondrogenesis of human mesenchymal stem cells encapsulated in alginate beads.</a> J. Biomed. Mater. Res. A. 64 (2), 273-281 (2003).</li></ol>

This protocol has several critical steps. The first is bead size homogeneity, which is required to maintain the same conditions of diffusion of the nutrients and gases in all of the cell culture. In our experience, the use of a 21 G needle to make the alginate beads allows for the acquisition of an efficient culture of uniform bead size. The second important factor is the distance from the needle; this distance must be no more than 5 cm from the calcium solution to avoid deformed pearls and dead cells due to the collisio...

Three-dimensional scaffolds have been extensively used in cell culturing because they provide a three-dimensional structural support for cultured cells and the maintenance of cell-to-cell communication1. Naturally derived polymer materials have been used to make three-dimensional scaffolds including type I collagen, chitosan and alginate. Alginate is a natural polymer derived from the brown sea algae Macrocystispyrifera (Kelp). This polymer is composed of repeated units of &#946;-D-mannuronic acid (M) and &#945;-L-guluronic acid (G)2 and forms stable gels in the presence of certain divalent cations, such as calcium and barium. Calcium chloride (CaCl2) solutions are commonly used as the crosslinking reagent to form alginate beads. Alginate solutions dropped into CaCl2 immediately form three-dimensional spherical gels. When the alginate solution is mixed with cells, the cells are encapsulated into the alginate beads3.
Alginate has properties that have enabled it to be used as a matrix for the encapsulation of a variety of cells, including chondrocytes4, skeletal myoblasts5 and neural stem cells6. It is an inert material and permits the diffusion of nutrients, oxygen and metabolic products that maintain cell survival and function; moreover, unlike other gel-based culture systems, cells cultured within alginate beads can also be liberated from the scaffold using calcium chelators, such as sodium citrate, and the cells can then be harvested for further investigations7.
Pituitary adenomas are typically benign tumors with low proliferation rates. Rat pituitary adenoma cell lines have been successfully cultured in a two-dimensional system8. However, this culture of secretory human pituitary cell tumors is not an efficient development; dispersed tumor pituitary cells grow poorly in culture, the cells exhibit limited attachment and spreading, and the cells typically form floating aggregates in the culture dish9,10.
Several attempts have been made to obtain a tumor pituitary cell suspension, including an enzymatic and mechanical dispersion approach11, a solely mechanical dispersion approach12 and the culturing of tumor explants10. With these approaches, different authors have obtained viable adherent cultures for different periods of time. The capacities of the tumor secretory cells to survive in these two-dimensional systems depend on the tumor type and their proliferation rates9. However, in long-term cultures, cells with fibroblast phenotypes predominate11,13. This paper describes a method for obtaining a primary culture from pituitary adenoma cells encapsulated in alginate beads that further liberates them from the alginate scaffold that enables detailed analyses of aspects of their cell biology, e.g., their cytoskeletal arrangements.

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three-dimensional alginate-bead culture of human pituitary adenoma cells

A three-dimensional culture method is described in which primary pituitary adenoma cells are grown in alginate beads. Alginate is a polymer derived from brown sea algae. Briefly, the tumor tissue is cut into small pieces and submitted to an enzymatic digestion with collagenase and trypsin. Next, a cell suspension is obtained. The tumor cell suspension is mixed with 1.2% sodium alginate and dropped into a CaCl2 solution, and the alginate/cell suspension is gelled on contact with the CaCl2 to form spherical beads. The cells embedded in the alginate beads are supplied with nutrients provided by the culture media enriched with 20% FBS. Three-dimensional culture in alginate beads maintains the viability of adenoma cells for long periods of time, up to four months. Moreover, the cells can be liberated from the alginate by washing the beads with sodium citrate and seeded on glass coverslips for further immunocytochemical analyses. The use of a cell culture model allows for the fixation and visualization of the actin cytoskeleton with minimal disorganization. In summary, alginate beads provide a reliable culture system for the maintenance of pituitary adenoma cells.

This protocol has been applied successfully in the culture and maintenance of adenoma pituitary cells in alginate beads for different periods of time. Figure 1 shows embedded cells in alginate beads after three months; these cells exhibit bi-refractive rounded shapes under an inverted light microscope (Figure 1). Figure 2 shows the localization of N-cadherin in rat pituitary adenoma cells embedded in alginate. The N-cadherin is localized ...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Three-dimensional Alginate-bead Culture of Human Pituitary Adenoma Cells at JoVE.com

Three-dimensional Alginate-bead Culture of Human Pituitary Adenoma Cells

Three-dimensional culture in alginate beads, due to its simplicity and reproducibility, was chosen to maintain the pituitary adenoma cells. The procedures included an initial enzymatic digestion and mechanical dissociation of the tumor tissue, and the subsequent cell suspension was encapsulated in alginate beads.

A three-dimensional culture method is described in which primary pituitary adenoma cells are grown in alginate beads. Alginate is a polymer derived from ...

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