Identification of soluble tissue-derived biomarkers from human thyroid tissue explants maintained on a microfluidic device

Environmental fluoxetine promotes skin cell proliferation and wound healing

This study investigates the effects of environmentally-relevant concentrations of fluoxetine (FLX, commercial name: Prozac) on wound healing. Pollution of water systems with pharmaceutical and personal care products, including antidepressants such as FLX and other selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, is a growing environmental concern. Environmentally-relevant FLX concentrations are known to impact physiological functions and behaviour of aquatic animals, however, the effects of exposure on humans are currently unknown. Using a combination of human skin biopsies and a human keratinocyte cell line, we show that exposure to environmental FLX promotes wound closure. We show dose-dependent increases in wound closure with FLX concentrations from 125 ng/l. Using several -omics and pharmaceutical approaches, we demonstrate that the mechanisms underlying enhanced wound closure are increased cell proliferation and serotonin signalling. Transcriptomic analysis revealed 350 differentially expressed genes after exposure. Downregulated genes were enriched in pathways related to mitochondrial function and metabolism, while upregulated genes were associated with cell proliferation and tissue morphogenesis. Kinase profiling showed altered phosphorylation of kinases linked to the MAPK pathway. Consistent with this, phosphoproteomic analyses identified 235 differentially phosphorylated proteins after exposure, with enriched GO terms related to cell cycle, division, and protein biosynthesis. Treatment of skin biopsies and keratinocytes with ketanserin, a serotonin receptor antagonist, reversed the increase in wound closure observed upon exposure. These findings collectively show that exposure to environmental FLX promotes wound healing through modulating serotonin signalling, gene expression and protein phosphorylation, leading to enhanced cell proliferation. Our results justify a transition from the study of behavioural effects of environmental FLX in aquatic animals to the investigation of effects of exposure on wound healing in aquatic and terrestrial animals, including direct impacts on human health.

Prospectives and retrospectives of microfluidics devices and lab-on-A-chip emphasis on cancer

Microfluidics is a science and technology that deals with the concept of "less sample-to-more precision" enabling portable device development via fabrication for in vitro analysis. On evolution, microfluidic system lead to the development of Organ-on-chip where recapitulation of organ's functionality and pathophysiological response can be performed under controlled environment. Further microfluidic-based "Lab-on-chip" device, a versatile innovation credited for its number of parameters that has capability to leverage next-generation companion of medicines. This emulsion science has enormous practise in the field of regenerative medicine, drug screening, medical diagnosis and therapy for accuracy in results. In this era of personalized medicine, getting precise tools for applying these theranostics is crucial. Oncological theranostics create a new gateway to develop precision in personalized medicine for cancer, where microfluidic chips are involved in diagnosis and therapy of various cancers using biomarkers for thyroid, lung cancers, and assay based for breast, circulating tumor cells and colorectal cancers and nanoparticles for ovarian cancer. This review shows more comprehensive approach to the state of art with respect to microfluidic devices in cancer theranostics.

Advances in the Construction and Application of Thyroid Organoids

Organoids are complex multicellular structures that stem cells self-organize in three-dimensional (3D) cultures into anatomical structures and functional units similar to those seen in the organs from which they originate. This review describes the construction of thyroid organoids and the research progress that has occurred in models of thyroid-related disease. As a novel tool for modeling in a 3D multicellular environment, organoids help provide some useful references for the study of the pathogenesis of thyroid disease.

Development of a dual-flow tissue perfusion device for modeling the gastrointestinal tract-brain axis

Despite the large number of microfluidic devices that have been described over the past decade for the study of tissues and organs, few have become widely adopted. There are many reasons for this lack of adoption, primarily that devices are constructed for a single purpose or because they are highly complex and require relatively expensive investment in facilities and training. Here, we describe a microphysiological system (MPS) that is simple to use and provides fluid channels above and below cells, or tissue biopsies, maintained on a disposable, poly(methyl methacrylate), carrier held between polycarbonate outer plates. All other fittings are standard Luer sizes for ease of adoption. The carrier can be coated with cells on both sides to generate membrane barriers, and the devices can be established in series to allow medium to flow from one cell layer to another. Furthermore, the carrier containing cells can be easily removed after treatment on the device and the cells can be visualized or recovered for additional off-chip analysis. A 0.4 μm membrane with cell monolayers proved most effective in maintaining separate fluid flows, allowing apical and basal surfaces to be perfused independently. A panel of different cell lines (Caco-2, HT29-MTX-E12, SH-SY5Y, and HUVEC) were successfully maintained in the MPS for up to 7 days, either alone or on devices connected in series. The presence of tight junctions and mucin was expressed as expected by Caco-2 and HT-29-MTX-E12, with Concanavalin A showing uniform staining. Addition of Annexin V and PI showed viability of these cells to be >80% at 7 days. Bacterial extracellular vesicles (BEVs) produced by Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron and labeled with 1,1'-dioctadecyl-3,3,3',3'-tetramethylindocarbo-cyanine perchlorate (DiD) were used as a model component of the human colonic microbiota and were visualized translocating from an apical surface containing Caco-2 cells to differentiated SH-SY5Y neuronal cells cultured on the basal surface of connected devices. The newly described MPS can be easily adapted, by changing the carrier to maintain spheroids, pieces, or slices of biopsy tissue and joined in series to study a variety of cell and tissue processes. The cell layers can be made more complex through the addition of multiple cell types and/or different patterning of extracellular matrix and the ability to culture cells adjacent to one another to allow study of cell:cell transfer, e.g., passive or active drug transfer, virus or bacterial entry or BEV uptake and transfer.

Investigating the effects of arginine methylation inhibitors on microdissected brain tumour biopsies maintained in a miniaturised perfusion system

Arginine methylation is a post-translational modification that consists of the transfer of one or two methyl (CH3) groups to arginine residues in proteins. Several types of arginine methylation occur, namely monomethylation, symmetric dimethylation and asymmetric dimethylation, which are catalysed by different protein arginine methyltransferases (PRMTs). Inhibitors of PRMTs have recently entered clinical trials to target several types of cancer, including gliomas (NCT04089449). People with glioblastoma (GBM), the most aggressive form of brain tumour, are among those with the poorest quality of life and likelihood of survival of anyone diagnosed with cancer. There is currently a lack of (pre)clinical research on the possible application of PRMT inhibitors to target brain tumours. Here, we set out to investigate the effects of clinically-relevant PRMT inhibitors on GBM biopsies. We present a new, low-cost, easy to fabricate perfusion device that can maintain GBM tissue in a viable condition for at least eight days post-surgical resection. The miniaturised perfusion device enables the treatment of GBM tissue with PRMT inhibitors ex vivo, and we observed a two-fold increase in apoptosis in treated samples compared to parallel control experiments. Mechanistically, we show thousands of differentially expressed genes after treatment, and changes in the type of arginine methylation of the RNA binding protein FUS that are consistent with hundreds of differential gene splicing events. This is the first time that cross-talk between different types of arginine methylation has been observed in clinical samples after treatment with PRMT inhibitors.

Lab-on-a-chip systems for cancer biomarker diagnosis

Lab-on-a-chip (LOC) or micro total analysis system is one of the microfluidic technologies defined as the adaptation, miniaturization, integration, and automation of analytical laboratory procedures into a single instrument or "chip". In this article, we review developments over the past five years in the application of LOC biosensors for the detection of different types of cancer. Microfluidics encompasses chemistry and biotechnology skills and has revolutionized healthcare diagnosis. Superior to traditional cell culture or animal models, microfluidic technology has made it possible to reconstruct functional units of organs on chips to study human diseases such as cancer. LOCs have found numerous biomedical applications over the past five years, including integrated bioassays, cell analysis, metabolomics, drug discovery and delivery systems, tissue and organ physiology and disease modeling, and personalized medicine. This review provides an overview of the latest developments in microfluidic-based cancer research, with pros, cons, and prospects.