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Cherubini M, Erickson S, Padmanaban P, Haberkant P, Stein F, Beltran-Sastre V, Haase K. Flow in fetoplacental-like microvessels in vitro enhances perfusion, barrier function, and matrix stability. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2023; 9:eadj8540. [PMID: 38134282 PMCID: PMC10745711 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adj8540] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2023] [Accepted: 11/22/2023] [Indexed: 12/24/2023]
Abstract
Proper placental vascularization is vital for pregnancy outcomes, but assessing it with animal models and human explants has limitations. We introduce a 3D in vitro model of human placenta terminal villi including fetal mesenchyme and vascular endothelium. By coculturing HUVEC, placental fibroblasts, and pericytes in a macrofluidic chip with a flow reservoir, we generate fully perfusable fetal microvessels. Pressure-driven flow facilitates microvessel growth and remodeling, resulting in early formation of interconnected and lasting placental-like vascular networks. Computational fluid dynamics simulations predict shear forces, which increase microtissue stiffness, decrease diffusivity, and enhance barrier function as shear stress rises. Mass spectrometry analysis reveals enhanced protein expression with flow, including matrix stability regulators, proteins associated with actin dynamics, and cytoskeleton organization. Our model provides a powerful tool for deducing complex in vivo parameters, such as shear stress on developing vascularized placental tissue, and holds promise for unraveling gestational disorders related to the vasculature.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marta Cherubini
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Scott Erickson
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), Barcelona, Spain
| | | | - Per Haberkant
- Proteomics Core Facility, EMBL Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Frank Stein
- Proteomics Core Facility, EMBL Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
| | | | - Kristina Haase
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), Barcelona, Spain
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Zhang S, Kan EL, Kamm RD. Integrating functional vasculature into organoid culture: A biomechanical perspective. APL Bioeng 2022; 6:030401. [DOI: 10.1063/5.0097967] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2022] [Accepted: 06/27/2022] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Shun Zhang
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, USA
| | - Ellen L. Kan
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, USA
| | - Roger D. Kamm
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, USA
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Haase K, Piatti F, Marcano M, Shin Y, Visone R, Redaelli A, Rasponi M, Kamm RD. Physiologic flow-conditioning limits vascular dysfunction in engineered human capillaries. Biomaterials 2021; 280:121248. [PMID: 34794827 DOI: 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2021.121248] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2021] [Revised: 11/05/2021] [Accepted: 11/08/2021] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Abstract
Hemodynamics play a central role in the health and disease of the coronary and peripheral vascular systems. Vessel-lining endothelial cells are known mechanosensors, responding to disturbances in flow - with mechanosensitivity hypothesized to change in response to metabolic demands. The health of our smallest microvessels have been lauded as a prognostic marker for cardiovascular health. Yet, despite numerous animal models, studying these small vessels has proved difficult. Microfluidic technologies have allowed a number of 3D vascular models to be developed and used to investigate human vessels. Here, two such systems are employed for examining 1) interstitial flow effects on neo-vessel formation, and 2) the effects of flow-conditioning on vascular remodeling following sustained static culture. Interstitial flow is shown to enhance early vessel formation via significant remodeling of vessels and interconnected tight junctions of the endothelium. In formed vessels, continuous flow maintains a stable vascular diameter and causes significant remodeling, contrasting the continued anti-angiogenic decline of statically cultured vessels. This study is the first to couple complex 3D computational flow distributions and microvessel remodeling from microvessels grown on-chip (exposed to flow or no-flow conditions). Flow-conditioned vessels (WSS < 1Pa for 30 μm vessels) increase endothelial barrier function, result in significant changes in gene expression and reduce reactive oxygen species and anti-angiogenic cytokines. Taken together, these results demonstrate microvessel mechanosensitivity to flow-conditioning, which limits deleterious vessel regression in vitro, and could have implications for future modeling of reperfusion/no-flow conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristina Haase
- Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, MIT, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Filippo Piatti
- Dept. of Electronics, Information, and Bioengineering, Politecnico di Milano, Milan, Italy
| | | | - Yoojin Shin
- Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, MIT, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Roberta Visone
- Dept. of Electronics, Information, and Bioengineering, Politecnico di Milano, Milan, Italy
| | - Alberto Redaelli
- Dept. of Electronics, Information, and Bioengineering, Politecnico di Milano, Milan, Italy
| | - Marco Rasponi
- Dept. of Electronics, Information, and Bioengineering, Politecnico di Milano, Milan, Italy
| | - Roger D Kamm
- Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, MIT, Cambridge, MA, USA; Dept. of Biological Engineering, MIT, Cambridge, MA, USA.
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Neves ER, Harley BAC, Pedron S. Microphysiological systems to study tumor-stroma interactions in brain cancer. Brain Res Bull 2021; 174:220-229. [PMID: 34166771 PMCID: PMC8324563 DOI: 10.1016/j.brainresbull.2021.06.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2021] [Revised: 05/17/2021] [Accepted: 06/15/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Brain tumors still lack effective treatments, and the mechanisms of tumor progression and therapeutic resistance are unclear. Multiple parameters affect cancer prognosis (e.g., type and grade, age, location, size, and genetic mutations) and election of suitable treatments is based on preclinical models and clinical data. However, most candidate drugs fail in human trials due to inefficacy. Cell lines and tissue culture plates do not provide physiologically relevant environments, and animal models are not able to adequately mimic characteristics of disease in humans. Therefore, increasing technological advances are focusing on in vitro and computational modeling to increase the throughput and predicting capabilities of preclinical systems. The extensive use of these therapeutic agents requires a more profound understanding of the tumor-stroma interactions, including neural tissue, extracellular matrix, blood-brain barrier, astrocytes and microglia. Microphysiological brain tumor models offer physiologically relevant vascularized 'minitumors' that can help deciphering disease mechanisms, accelerating the drug discovery and predicting patient's response to anticancer treatments. This article reviews progress in tumor-on-a-chip platforms that are designed to comprehend the particular roles of stromal cells in the brain tumor microenvironment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Edward R Neves
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Carl R Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA
| | - Brendan A C Harley
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Carl R Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA
| | - Sara Pedron
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Carl R Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA.
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