Name: initial 3d cell cluster control in a hybrid gel cube device for repeatable pattern formations
Uploaded: 2019-03-21T14:30:00
Description: Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Initial 3D Cell Cluster Control in a Hybrid Gel Cube Device for Repeatable Pattern Formations at JoVE.com

This work was financially supported by JSPS KAKENHI (18H04765) and the Program to Disseminate Tenure Track System, MEXT, Japan.

1. Fabrication of hybrid gel cube device
<ol>
	<li>Prepare a polycarbonate (PC) cubic frame either by using a machining process or a 3D printer. The size of the PC frame depends on the sample size. In this study, we used a frame of 5 mm on each side so that the branches had sufficient space to elongate during culturing.</li>
	<li>Place the PC frame on a pre-cooled glass slide or another smooth surface in an ice box (&#60;0 &#176;C) (Figure 1A).</li>
	<li>Add 12 &#181;L of pre-heated 1.5% a...

<ol>
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The method presented in this paper is simple and can be performed without high-technology equipment. Concurrently, a precise cell cluster shape control result in the 3D space of hydrogel can be obtained. After the initial control, the cells can grow in the HGC as much as they are cultured on a dish. The multi-directional imaging is performed by rotating the sample with the HGC using any microscopy system, and it significantly enhances the imaging quality. The choice of the materials for the HGC frame and micromold is fle...

The importance of a 3D culture, which better mimics biological environments than does a 2D culture, is considerably emphasized in cell/tissue culture1,2,3. The interaction between the cells and extracellular matrix (ECM) provides important cues regarding morphogenesis4,5. Many tissue formations can emerge only under 3D environments, such as the folding process6,7, invagination8, and tubular formation9,10. However, numerous difficulties prevent researchers from shifting to 3D experiments from 2D experiments on a dish. One of the major difficulties in 3D experiments is the issue of imaging 3D samples. Compared with planar experiments, acquisition of appropriate 3D images is still challenging in many cases. In particular, obtaining an appropriate 3D image is a difficult task when the sample size reaches the millimeter range owing to the large focal depth of low-magnification lenses. For example, the focal depth reaches more than 50 &#181;m when a 10x magnification lens is used while the size of the single cell is normally less than 10 &#181;m. To enhance the imaging quality, high-technology microscopy systems are being developed (e.g., two-photon microscopy11 and light-sheet microscopy system12), but their availability is limited owing to their expensive price. As an alternative, we have previously developed a hybrid gel cube (HGC) device13. The device consists of two types of hydrogels: agarose as a support gel and an ECM such as collagen or Matrigel as a culture gel. The HGC allows us to collect the sample during culturing and rotate the cube to achieve multi-directional imaging, which addresses the focal depth problem14.
Another difficulty in 3D experiments is their low repeatability owing to the poor controllability of the 3D environments. Unlike a planar culture on a plastic dish, variations in the initial culture conditions easily occur in a 3D space surrounded by a soft material. A significant variation in the experimental results deteriorates the following analysis and masks the underlying mechanisms. Many engineering technologies have been developed to spatially align single cells, such as bioprinting15,16, fiber weaving17, and scaffolding18, but they require complex preprocessing or specifically designed equipment. In contrast, we have developed a methodology for achieving 3D cell alignment in an HGC19.
In this protocol, we illustrated a simple procedure with commonly used equipment for controlling the 3D initial cell cluster shape in an HGC. First, the fabrication process of the HGC was demonstrated. Then, micromolds fabricated by photolithography or a machining process were placed in the HGC to produce a pocket with an arbitrary shape in an ECM. Subsequently, highly dense cells after centrifugation were injected into the pocket to control the initial cell cluster shape in the HGC. The precisely controlled cell cluster could be imaged from many directions because of the HGC. Normal human bronchial epithelial (NHBE) cells were used to demonstrate the control of the initial cell cluster shape and imaging of the branches from multiple directions for enhancing the imaging quality.

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	<tbody>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:251px;">12-well-plate</td>
			<td style="width:124px;">Corning&#160; Inc.</td>
			<td align="right" style="width:132px;">3513</td>
			<td style="width:167px;"></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="26">
			<td height="26" style="height:26px;width:251px;">2-Methoxy-1-methylethyl Acetate</td>
			<td style="width:124px;">FUJIFILM Wako Pure Chemical Co.</td>
			<td style="width:132px;">130-10505</td>
			<td>PGMEA, CAS: 108-65-6&#160;</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="63">
			<td height="63" style="height:63px;width:251px;">4% paraformaldehyde</td>
			<td style="width:124px;">FUJIFILM Wako Pure Chemical Co.</td>
			<td style="width:132px;">161-20141</td>
			<td>CAS: 30525-89-4</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="35">
			<td height="35" style="height:35px;width:251px;">Agarose, low gelling temperature&#160; BioReagent</td>
			<td style="width:124px;">Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td style="width:132px;">A9414</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="42">
			<td height="42" style="height:42px;width:251px;">Alexa fluor 488 phalloidin</td>
			<td style="width:124px;">Thermo Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td style="width:132px;">A12379</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:251px;">AZ1512</td>
			<td>Merck</td>
			<td style="width:132px;"></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:251px;">BEGM bullet kit</td>
			<td style="width:124px;">Lonza</td>
			<td style="width:132px;">CC-3170</td>
			<td>Specialized medium for NHBE cells</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="42">
			<td height="42" style="height:42px;width:251px;">Bovine Serum Albumin solution (10 %)</td>
			<td style="width:124px;">Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td style="width:132px;">A1595</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:251px;">EGM-2 bullet kit</td>
			<td style="width:124px;">Lonza</td>
			<td style="width:132px;">CC-3162</td>
			<td>Specialized medium for endothelial cells</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:251px;">Lipidure</td>
			<td style="width:124px;">NOF co.</td>
			<td style="width:132px;"></td>
			<td>MPC polymer</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="42">
			<td height="42" style="height:42px;width:251px;">Matrigel growth factor reduced basement membrane matrix</td>
			<td style="width:124px;">Corning&#160; Inc.</td>
			<td style="width:132px;">354230</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="42">
			<td height="42" style="height:42px;width:251px;">Normal Goat Serum (10%)</td>
			<td style="width:124px;">Thermo Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td style="width:132px;">50197Z</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="42">
			<td height="42" style="height:42px;width:251px;">Normal human bronchial epithelial cells</td>
			<td style="width:124px;">Lonza</td>
			<td style="width:132px;">CC-2541</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:251px;">SILPOT 184 W/C</td>
			<td style="width:124px;">Dow Corning Co.</td>
			<td style="width:132px;">3255981</td>
			<td>Base resin and catalyst for PDMS</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="63">
			<td height="63" style="height:63px;width:251px;">SUEX D300</td>
			<td style="width:124px;"></td>
			<td style="width:132px;">DJ MicroLaminates, Inc</td>
			<td>Thick negative photoresist (thichness: 300 mm)</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="42">
			<td height="42" style="height:42px;width:251px;">Triton X-100 (1%)</td>
			<td style="width:124px;">Thermo Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td style="width:132px;">HFH10</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="42">
			<td height="42" style="height:42px;width:251px;">Trypsin-EDTA (0.25%)</td>
			<td style="width:124px;">Thermo Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td style="width:132px;">25200056</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:251px;">TWEEN 20</td>
			<td style="width:124px;">Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td style="width:132px;">P9416</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

initial 3d cell cluster control in a hybrid gel cube device for repeatable pattern formations

The importance of in vitro 3D cultures is considerably emphasized in cell/tissue culture. However, the lack of experimental repeatability is one of its restrictions. Producing few repeatable results of pattern formation deteriorates the analysis of the mechanisms underlying the self-organization. Reducing variation in initial culture conditions, such as the cell density and distribution in the extracellular matrix (ECM), is crucial to enhance the repeatability of a 3D culture. In this article, we demonstrate a simple but robust procedure for controlling the initial cell cluster shape in a 3D extracellular matrix to obtain highly repeatable pattern formations. A micromold with a desired shape was fabricated by using photolithography or a machining process, and it formed a 3D pocket in the ECM contained in a hybrid gel cube (HGC). Highly concentrated cells were then injected in the pocket so that the cell cluster shape matched with the fabricated mold shape. The employed HGC allowed multi-directional scanning by its rotation, which enabled high-resolution imaging and the capture of the entire tissue structure even though a low-magnification lens was used. Normal human bronchial epithelial cells were used to demonstrate the methodology.&#160;

Normal human bronchial epithelial (NHBE) cells were used to demonstrate the illustrated methodology and control the initial collective cell geometry to achieve a cylinder shape and a prism shape, respectively in an ECM environment. The multi-directional imaging results obtained by phase contrast as well as phalloidin staining of a cylinder shape (Figure 4A,B) and the prism shape (Figure 4C,D) are...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Initial 3D Cell Cluster Control in a Hybrid Gel Cube Device for Repeatable Pattern Formations at JoVE.com

Initial 3D Cell Cluster Control in a Hybrid Gel Cube Device for Repeatable Pattern Formations

We present a procedure for controlling the initial cell cluster shape in a 3D extracellular matrix to obtain a repeatable pattern formation. A cubic device containing two different hydrogels is employed to achieve multi-directional imaging for tissue pattern formation.

The importance of in vitro 3D cultures is considerably emphasized in cell/tissue culture. However, the lack of experimental repeatability is one of its ...

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