Abstract
Mesenchymal stem cells and pluripotent stem cells are recognized as promising tools for tissue engineering, cell therapy, and drug screening. Their use in therapy requires the production of a sufficient number of cells committed to functional regenerative phenotypes. Time- and magnitude-controlled application of mechanical and biochemical cues is required to appropriately control the evolution of stem cell phenotype in 3D. The temporal monitoring of the impact of these cues on the diverse fates of individual stem cells is also needed to ensure the reliability of the differentiation processes. However, macro-scale bioreactors are limited in regulating stem environment and display limited capability to monitor heterogeneities at the single cell level. In turn, microfluidics devices are emerging as powerful tools for tightly controlling culture parameters and precisely monitoring stem cell behavior. This work summarizes recent advances in the applications of microfluidics for the dynamic regulation and characterization of stem cells in 3D.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Caplan, A. I., & Correa, D. (2011). The MSC: An injury drugstore. Cell Stem Cell, 9(1), 11–15. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stem.2011.06.008.
Takahashi, K., Tanabe, K., Ohnuki, M., Narita, M., Ichisaka, T., Tomoda, K., et al. (2007). Induction of pluripotent stem cells from adult human fibroblasts by defined factors. Cell, 131(5), 861–872. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2007.11.019.
Gu, M., Nguyen, P. K., Lee, A. S., Xu, D., Hu, S., Plews, J. R., et al. (2012). Microfluidic single cell analysis show porcine induced pluripotent stem cell-derived endothelial cells improve myocardial function by paracrine activation. Circulation Research, 111(7), 882–893. https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.112.269001.
Sart, S., Agathos, S. N., Li, Y., & Ma, T. (2016). Regulation of mesenchymal stem cell 3D microenvironment: From macro to microfluidic bioreactors. Biotechnology Journal, 11(1), 43–57. https://doi.org/10.1002/biot.201500191.
Sart, S., Bejoy, J., & Li, Y. (2017). Characterization of 3D pluripotent stem cell aggregates and the impact of their properties on bioprocessing. Process Biochemistry, 59, 276–288. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procbio.2016.05.024.
Kinney, M. A., Hookway, T. A., Wang, Y., & McDevitt, T. C. (2014). Engineering three-dimensional stem cell morphogenesis for the development of tissue models and scalable regenerative therapeutics. Annals of Biomedical Engineering, 42(2), 352–367. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10439-013-0953-9.
Bartosh, T. J., Ylöstalo, J. H., Bazhanov, N., Kuhlman, J., & Prockop, D. J. (2013). Dynamic compaction of human mesenchymal stem/precursor cells into spheres self-activates caspase-dependent IL1 signaling to enhance secretion of modulators of inflammation and immunity (PGE2, TSG6, and STC1). Stem Cells, 31(11), 2443–2456. https://doi.org/10.1002/stem.1499.
Lancaster, M. A., Renner, M., Martin, C.-A., Wenzel, D., Bicknell, L. S., Hurles, M. E., et al. (2013). Cerebral organoids model human brain development and microcephaly. Nature, 501(7467), 373–379. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature12517.
Kinney, M. A., & McDevitt, T. C. (2013). Emerging strategies for spatiotemporal control of stem cell fate and morphogenesis. Trends in Biotechnology, 31(2), 78–84. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tibtech.2012.11.001.
Jackson-Holmes, E. L., McDevitt, T. C., & Lu, H. (2017). A microfluidic trap array for longitudinal monitoring and multi-modal phenotypic analysis of individual stem cell aggregates. Lab on a Chip, 17(21), 3634–3642. https://doi.org/10.1039/c7lc00763a.
Qian, T., Shusta, E. V., & Palecek, S. P. (2015). Advances in microfluidic platforms for analyzing and regulating human pluripotent stem cells. Current Opinion in Genetics & Development, 34, 54–60. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gde.2015.07.007.
Gottwald, E., Giselbrecht, S., Augspurger, C., Lahni, B., Dambrowsky, N., Truckenmüller, R., et al. (2007). A chip-based platform for the in vitro generation of tissues in three-dimensional organization. Lab on a Chip, 7(6), 777–785. https://doi.org/10.1039/b618488j.
Figallo, E., Cannizzaro, C., Gerecht, S., Burdick, J. A., Langer, R., Elvassore, N., et al. (2007). Micro-bioreactor array for controlling cellular microenvironments. Lab on a Chip, 7(6), 710–719. https://doi.org/10.1039/b700063d.
Sart, S., Tsai, A.-C., Li, Y., & Ma, T. (2014). Three-dimensional aggregates of mesenchymal stem cells: Cellular mechanisms, biological properties, and applications. Tissue Engineering B, 20(5), 365–380. https://doi.org/10.1089/ten.TEB.2013.0537.
Guneta, V., Loh, Q. L., & Choong, C. (2016). Cell-secreted extracellular matrix formation and differentiation of adipose-derived stem cells in 3D alginate scaffolds with tunable properties. Journal of Biomedical Materials Research A, 104(5), 1090–1101. https://doi.org/10.1002/jbm.a.35644.
Richardson, T., Barner, S., Candiello, J., Kumta, P. N., & Banerjee, I. (2016). Capsule stiffness regulates the efficiency of pancreatic differentiation of human embryonic stem cells. Acta Biomaterialia, 35, 153–165. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actbio.2016.02.025.
Bozza, A., Coates, E. E., Incitti, T., Ferlin, K. M., Messina, A., Menna, E., et al. (2014). Neural differentiation of pluripotent cells in 3D alginate-based cultures. Biomaterials, 35(16), 4636–4645. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biomaterials.2014.02.039.
Hazeltine, L. B., Badur, M. G., Lian, X., Das, A., Han, W., & Palecek, S. P. (2014). Temporal impact of substrate mechanics on differentiation of human embryonic stem cells to cardiomyocytes. Acta Biomaterialia, 10(2), 604–612. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actbio.2013.10.033.
Yan, Y., Li, Y., Song, L., Zeng, C., & Li, Y. (2017). Pluripotent stem cell expansion and neural differentiation in 3-D scaffolds of tunable Poisson’s ratio. Acta Biomaterialia, 49, 192–203. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actbio.2016.11.025.
Yang, Y.-H., Khan, Z., Ma, C., Lim, H. J., & Smith Callahan, L. A. (2015). Optimization of adhesive conditions for neural differentiation of murine embryonic stem cells using hydrogels functionalized with continuous Ile-Lys-Val-Ala-Val concentration gradients. Acta Biomaterialia, 21, 55–62. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actbio.2015.04.031.
Dixon, J. E., Shah, D. A., Rogers, C., Hall, S., Weston, N., Parmenter, C. D. J., et al. (2014). Combined hydrogels that switch human pluripotent stem cells from self-renewal to differentiation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 111(15), 5580–5585. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1319685111.
Xu, W.-L., Ong, H.-S., Zhu, Y., Liu, S.-W., Liu, L.-M., Zhou, K.-H., et al. (2017). In situ release of VEGF enhances osteogenesis in 3D porous scaffolds engineered with osterix-modified adipose-derived stem cells. Tissue Engineering A, 23(9–10), 445–457. https://doi.org/10.1089/ten.TEA.2016.0315.
Crecente-Campo, J., Borrajo, E., Vidal, A., & Garcia-Fuentes, M. (2017). New scaffolds encapsulating TGF-β3/BMP-7 combinations driving strong chondrogenic differentiation. European Journal of Pharmaceutics and Biopharmaceutics, 114, 69–78. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejpb.2016.12.021.
Nie, Y., Zhang, K., Zhang, S., Wang, D., Han, Z., Che, Y., et al. (2017). Nitric oxide releasing hydrogel promotes endothelial differentiation of mouse embryonic stem cells. Acta Biomaterialia. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actbio.2017.08.037.
Kai, D., Prabhakaran, M. P., Jin, G., Tian, L., & Ramakrishna, S. (2017). Potential of VEGF-encapsulated electrospun nanofibers for in vitro cardiomyogenic differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells. Journal of Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, 11(4), 1002–1010. https://doi.org/10.1002/term.1999.
McMillen, P., & Holley, S. A. (2015). Integration of cell-cell and cell-ECM adhesion in vertebrate morphogenesis. Current Opinion in Cell Biology, 36, 48–53. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ceb.2015.07.002.
Moore, R., Cai, K. Q., Escudero, D. O., & Xu, X.-X. (2009). Cell adhesive affinity does not dictate primitive endoderm segregation and positioning during murine embryoid body formation. Genesis (New York, N.Y.: 2000), 47(9), 579–589. https://doi.org/10.1002/dvg.20536.
Sart, S., Tomasi, R., Amselem, G., & Baroud, C. N. (2018). Mapping the structure and biological functions of human mesenchymal stem cell spheroids using microfluidics. In preparation.
Hough, S. R., Laslett, A. L., Grimmond, S. B., Kolle, G., & Pera, M. F. (2009). A continuum of cell states spans pluripotency and lineage commitment in human embryonic stem cells. PLoS ONE, 4(11), e7708. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0007708.
Šustáčková, G., Legartová, S., Kozubek, S., Stixová, L., Pacherník, J., & Bártová, E. (2012). Differentiation-Independent Fluctuation of pluripotency-related transcription factors and other epigenetic markers in embryonic stem cell colonies. Stem Cells and Development, 21(5), 710–720. https://doi.org/10.1089/scd.2011.0085.
Jeon, S., Lee, H.-S., Lee, G.-Y., Park, G., Kim, T.-M., Shin, J., et al. (2017). Shift of EMT gradient in 3D spheroid MSCs for activation of mesenchymal niche function. Scientific Reports, 7(1), 6859. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-07049-3.
Qi, H., Huang, G., Han, Y. L., Lin, W., Li, X., Wang, S., et al. (2016). In vitro spatially organizing the differentiation in individual multicellular stem cell aggregates. Critical Reviews in Biotechnology, 36(1), 20–31. https://doi.org/10.3109/07388551.2014.922917.
Boxman, J., Sagy, N., Achanta, S., Vadigepalli, R., & Nachman, I. (2016). Integrated live imaging and molecular profiling of embryoid bodies reveals a synchronized progression of early differentiation. Scientific Reports. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep31623.
Giobbe, G. G., Zagallo, M., Riello, M., Serena, E., Masi, G., Barzon, L., et al. (2012). Confined 3D microenvironment regulates early differentiation in human pluripotent stem cells. Biotechnology and Bioengineering, 109(12), 3119–3132. https://doi.org/10.1002/bit.24571.
Poh, Y.-C., Chen, J., Hong, Y., Yi, H., Zhang, S., Chen, J., et al. (2014). Generation of organized germ layers from a single mouse embryonic stem cell. Nature Communications, 5, 4000. https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms5000.
Bae, J. H., Lee, J. M., & Chung, B. G. (2016). Hydrogel-encapsulated 3D microwell array for neuronal differentiation. Biomedical Materials (Bristol), 11(1), 15019. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-6041/11/1/015019.
Murphy, K. C., Fang, S. Y., & Leach, J. K. (2014). Human mesenchymal stem cell spheroids in fibrin hydrogels exhibit improved cell survival and potential for bone healing. Cell and Tissue Research, 357(1), 91–99. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00441-014-1830-z.
Ho, S. S., Murphy, K. C., Binder, B. Y. K., Vissers, C. B., & Leach, J. K. (2016). Increased survival and function of mesenchymal stem cell spheroids entrapped in instructive alginate hydrogels. Stem Cells Translational Medicine, 5(6), 773–781. https://doi.org/10.5966/sctm.2015-0211.
Murphy, K. C., Hoch, A. I., Harvestine, J. N., Zhou, D., & Leach, J. K. (2016). Mesenchymal stem cell spheroids retain osteogenic phenotype through α2β1 signaling. Stem Cells Translational Medicine, 5(9), 1229–1237. https://doi.org/10.5966/sctm.2015-0412.
No, D. Y., Lee, S.-A., Choi, Y. Y., Park, D., Jang, J. Y., Kim, D.-S., et al. (2012). Functional 3D human primary hepatocyte spheroids made by co-culturing hepatocytes from partial hepatectomy specimens and human adipose-derived stem cells. PLoS ONE, 7(12), e50723. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0050723.
Meretoja, V. V., Dahlin, R. L., Wright, S., Kasper, F. K., & Mikos, A. G. (2014). Articular chondrocyte redifferentiation in 3D co-cultures with mesenchymal stem cells. Tissue Engineering C, 20(6), 514–523. https://doi.org/10.1089/ten.tec.2013.0532.
McFadden, T. M., Duffy, G. P., Allen, A. B., Stevens, H. Y., Schwarzmaier, S. M., Plesnila, N., et al. (2013). The delayed addition of human mesenchymal stem cells to pre-formed endothelial cell networks results in functional vascularization of a collagen-glycosaminoglycan scaffold in vivo. Acta Biomaterialia, 9(12), 9303–9316. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actbio.2013.08.014.
Laco, F., Kun, M., Weber, H. J., Ramakrishna, S., & Chan, C. K. (2009). The dose effect of human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells on epidermal development in organotypic co-culture. Journal of Dermatological Science, 55(3), 150–160. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdermsci.2009.05.009.
Huang, C.-F., Chang, Y.-J., Hsueh, Y.-Y., Huang, C.-W., Wang, D.-H., Huang, T.-C., et al. (2016). Assembling composite dermal papilla spheres with adipose-derived stem cells to enhance hair follicle induction. Scientific Reports, 6, 26436. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep26436.
Leisten, I., Kramann, R., Ferreira, V., Bovi, M. S., Neuss, M., Ziegler, S., et al. (2012). 3D co-culture of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells and mesenchymal stem cells in collagen scaffolds as a model of the hematopoietic niche. Biomaterials, 33(6), 1736–1747. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biomaterials.2011.11.034.
Ou, D.-B., He, Y., Chen, R., Teng, J.-W., Wang, H.-T., Zeng, D., et al. (2011). Three-dimensional co-culture facilitates the differentiation of embryonic stem cells into mature cardiomyocytes. Journal of Cellular Biochemistry, 112(12), 3555–3562. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcb.23283.
Nagamoto, Y., Tashiro, K., Takayama, K., Ohashi, K., Kawabata, K., Sakurai, F., et al. (2012). The promotion of hepatic maturation of human pluripotent stem cells in 3D co-culture using type I collagen and Swiss 3T3 cell sheets. Biomaterials, 33(18), 4526–4534. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biomaterials.2012.03.011.
Amano, Y., Nishiguchi, A., Matsusaki, M., Iseoka, H., Miyagawa, S., Sawa, Y., et al. (2016). Development of vascularized iPSC derived 3D-cardiomyocyte tissues by filtration layer-by-layer technique and their application for pharmaceutical assays. Acta Biomaterialia, 33, 110–121. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actbio.2016.01.033.
Du, C., Narayanan, K., Leong, M. F., & Wan, A. C. A. (2014). Induced pluripotent stem cell-derived hepatocytes and endothelial cells in multi-component hydrogel fibers for liver tissue engineering. Biomaterials, 35(23), 6006–6014. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biomaterials.2014.04.011.
Takebe, T., Zhang, B., & Radisic, M. (2017). Synergistic engineering: organoids meet organs-on-a-chip. Cell Stem Cell, 21(3), 297–300. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stem.2017.08.016.
Spence, J. R., Mayhew, C. N., Rankin, S. A., Kuhar, M., Vallance, J. E., Tolle, K., et al. (2011). Directed differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells into intestinal tissue in vitro. Nature, 470(7332), 105–109. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature09691.
McCracken, K. W., Catá, E. M., Crawford, C. M., Sinagoga, K. L., Schumacher, M., Rockich, B. E., et al. (2014). Modeling human development and disease in pluripotent stem cell-derived gastric organoids. Nature, 516(7531), 400–404. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature13863.
Takebe, T., Sekine, K., Enomura, M., Koike, H., Kimura, M., Ogaeri, T., et al. (2013). Vascularized and functional human liver from an iPSC-derived organ bud transplant. Nature, 499(7459), 481–484. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature12271.
Dye, B. R., Hill, D. R., Ferguson, M. A. H., Tsai, Y.-H., Nagy, M. S., Dyal, R., et al. (2015). In vitro generation of human pluripotent stem cell derived lung organoids. eLife. https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.05098.
Völkner, M., Zschätzsch, M., Rostovskaya, M., Overall, R. W., Busskamp, V., Anastassiadis, K., et al. (2016). Retinal Organoids from pluripotent stem cells efficiently recapitulate retinogenesis. Stem Cell Reports, 6(4), 525–538. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stemcr.2016.03.001.
Ozone, C., Suga, H., Eiraku, M., Kadoshima, T., Yonemura, S., Takata, N., et al. (2016). Functional anterior pituitary generated in self-organizing culture of human embryonic stem cells. Nature Communications, 7, 10351. https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms10351.
Takasato, M., Er, P. X., Chiu, H. S., Maier, B., Baillie, G. J., Ferguson, C., et al. (2015). Kidney organoids from human iPS cells contain multiple lineages and model human nephrogenesis. Nature, 526(7574), 564–568. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature15695.
McCauley, H. A., & Wells, J. M. (2017). Pluripotent stem cell-derived organoids: Using principles of developmental biology to grow human tissues in a dish. Development (Cambridge), 144(6), 958–962. https://doi.org/10.1242/dev.140731.
Wolfe, R. P., Leleux, J., Nerem, R. M., & Ahsan, T. (2012). Effects of shear stress on germ lineage specification of embryonic stem cells. Integrative Biology: Quantitative Biosciences from Nano to Macro, 4(10), 1263–1273. https://doi.org/10.1039/c2ib20040f.
Lian, X., Hsiao, C., Wilson, G., Zhu, K., Hazeltine, L. B., Azarin, S. M., et al. (2012). Robust cardiomyocyte differentiation from human pluripotent stem cells via temporal modulation of canonical Wnt signaling. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 109(27), E1848–E1857. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1200250109.
Miyanishi, K., Trindade, M. C. D., Lindsey, D. P., Beaupré, G. S., Carter, D. R., Goodman, S. B., et al. (2006). Dose- and time-dependent effects of cyclic hydrostatic pressure on transforming growth factor-β3-induced chondrogenesis by adult human mesenchymal stem cells in vitro. Tissue Engineering, 12(8), 2253–2262. https://doi.org/10.1089/ten.2006.12.2253.
Yang, Z., Zou, Y., Guo, X. M., Tan, H. S., Denslin, V., Yeow, C. H., et al. (2011). Temporal activation of β-catenin signaling in the chondrogenic process of mesenchymal stem cells affects the phenotype of the cartilage generated. Stem Cells and Development, 21(11), 1966–1976. https://doi.org/10.1089/scd.2011.0376.
Adeniran-Catlett, A. E., Weinstock, L. D., Bozal, F. K., Beguin, E., Caraballo, A. T., & Murthy, S. K. (2016). Accelerated adipogenic differentiation of hMSCs in a microfluidic shear stimulation platform. Biotechnology Progress, 32(2), 440–446. https://doi.org/10.1002/btpr.2211.
Park, J.-C., Kim, J. C., Kim, B.-K., Cho, K.-S., Im, G.-I., Kim, B.-S., et al. (2012). Dose- and time-dependent effects of recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein-2 on the osteogenic and adipogenic potentials of alveolar bone-derived stromal cells. Journal of Periodontal Research, 47(5), 645–654. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0765.2012.01477.x.
Ding, H., Chen, S., Yin, J.-H., Xie, X.-T., Zhu, Z.-H., Gao, Y.-S., et al. (2014). Continuous hypoxia regulates the osteogenic potential of mesenchymal stem cells in a time-dependent manner. Molecular Medicine Reports, 10(4), 2184–2190. https://doi.org/10.3892/mmr.2014.2451.
Alm, J. J., Heino, T. J., Hentunen, T. A., Väänänen, H. K., & Aro, H. T. (2012). Transient 100 nM dexamethasone treatment reduces inter- and intra individual variations in osteoblastic differentiation of bone marrow-derived human mesenchymal stem cells. Tissue Engineering C, 18(9), 658–666. https://doi.org/10.1089/ten.TEC.2011.0675.
Lancaster, M. A., & Knoblich, J. A. (2014). Generation of cerebral organoids from human pluripotent stem cells. Nature Protocols, 9(10), 2329–2340. https://doi.org/10.1038/nprot.2014.158.
McMurtrey, R. J. (2017). Roles of diffusion dynamics in stem cell signaling and three-dimensional tissue development. Stem Cells and Development, 26(18), 1293–1303. https://doi.org/10.1089/scd.2017.0066.
Stavenschi, E., Labour, M.-N., & Hoey, D. A. (2017). Oscillatory fluid flow induces the osteogenic lineage commitment of mesenchymal stem cells: The effect of shear stress magnitude, frequency, and duration. Journal of Biomechanics. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbiomech.2017.02.002.
Shen, N., Knopf, A., Westendorf, C., Kraushaar, U., Riedl, J., Bauer, H., et al. (2017). Steps toward maturation of embryonic stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes by defined physical signals. Stem Cell Reports, 9(1), 122–135. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stemcr.2017.04.021.
Berry, J. D., Liovic, P., Šutalo, I. D., Stewart, R. L., Glattauer, V., & Meagher, L. (2016). Characterisation of stresses on microcarriers in a stirred bioreactor. Applied Mathematical Modelling, 40(15), 6787–6804. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apm.2016.02.025.
Bartnikowski, M., Klein, T. J., Melchels, F. P. W., & Woodruff, M. A. (2014). Effects of scaffold architecture on mechanical characteristics and osteoblast response to static and perfusion bioreactor cultures. Biotechnology and Bioengineering, 111(7), 1440–1451. https://doi.org/10.1002/bit.25200.
Wu, J. Z., & Herzog, W. (2000). Finite element simulation of location- and time-dependent mechanical behavior of chondrocytes in unconfined compression tests. Annals of Biomedical Engineering, 28(3), 318–330.
Shieh, A. C., & Athanasiou, K. A. (2007). Dynamic compression of single cells. Osteoarthritis and Cartilage, 15(3), 328–334. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joca.2006.08.013.
Moraes, C., Sun, Y., & Simmons, C. A. (2011). (Micro) managing the mechanical microenvironment. Integrative Biology: Quantitative Biosciences from Nano to Macro, 3(10), 959–971. https://doi.org/10.1039/c1ib00056j.
Selimović, Š, Oh, J., Bae, H., Dokmeci, M., & Khademhosseini, A. (2012). Microscale strategies for generating cell-encapsulating hydrogels. Polymers, 4(3), 1554.
Wu, J., & Tzanakakis, E. S. (2013). Deconstructing stem cell population heterogeneity: Single-cell analysis and modeling approaches. Biotechnology Advances, 31(7), 1047–1062. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biotechadv.2013.09.001.
Smith, Q., Stukalin, E., Kusuma, S., Gerecht, S., & Sun, S. X. (2015). Stochasticity and spatial interaction govern stem cell differentiation dynamics. Scientific Reports, 5, 12617. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep12617.
Freeman, B. T., Jung, J. P., & Ogle, B. M. (2015). Single-cell RNA-Seq of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells reveals unique profiles of lineage priming. PLoS ONE, 10(9), e0136199. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0136199.
Lee, W. C., Shi, H., Poon, Z., Nyan, L. M., Kaushik, T., Shivashankar, G. V., et al. (2014). Multivariate biophysical markers predictive of mesenchymal stromal cell multipotency. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 111(42), E4409–E4418. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1402306111.
Lee, Y. J., Vega, S. L., Patel, P. J., Aamer, K. A., Moghe, P. V., & Cicerone, M. T. (2014). Quantitative, label-free characterization of stem cell differentiation at the single-cell level by broadband coherent anti-stokes Raman scattering microscopy. Tissue Engineering C, 20(7), 562–569. https://doi.org/10.1089/ten.TEC.2013.0472.
Levi, B., Wan, D. C., Glotzbach, J. P., Hyun, J., Januszyk, M., Montoro, D., et al. (2011). CD105 protein depletion enhances human adipose-derived stromal cell osteogenesis through reduction of transforming growth factor β1 (TGF-β1) signaling. The Journal of Biological Chemistry, 286(45), 39497–39509. https://doi.org/10.1074/jbc.M111.256529.
Duscher, D., Rennert, R. C., Januszyk, M., Anghel, E., Maan, Z. N., Whittam, A. J., et al. (2014). Aging disrupts cell subpopulation dynamics and diminishes the function of mesenchymal stem cells. Scientific Reports, 4, 7144. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep07144.
Phinney, D. G. (2012). Functional heterogeneity of mesenchymal stem cells: Implications for cell therapy. Journal of Cellular Biochemistry, 113(9), 2806–2812. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcb.24166.
Torres-Padilla, M.-E., & Chambers, I. (2014). Transcription factor heterogeneity in pluripotent stem cells: A stochastic advantage. Development (Cambridge), 141(11), 2173–2181. https://doi.org/10.1242/dev.102624.
Klein, A. M., Mazutis, L., Akartuna, I., Tallapragada, N., Veres, A., Li, V., et al. (2015). Droplet barcoding for single-cell transcriptomics applied to embryonic stem cells. Cell, 161(5), 1187–1201. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2015.04.044.
Singer, Z. S., Yong, J., Tischler, J., Hackett, J. A., Altinok, A., Surani, M. A., et al. (2014). Dynamic heterogeneity and DNA methylation in embryonic stem cells. Molecular Cell, 55(2), 319–331. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molcel.2014.06.029.
Hough, S. R., Thornton, M., Mason, E., Mar, J. C., Wells, C. A., & Pera, M. F. (2014). Single-cell gene expression profiles define self-renewing, pluripotent, and lineage primed states of human pluripotent stem cells. Stem Cell Reports, 2(6), 881–895. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stemcr.2014.04.014.
Natarajan, K. N., Teichmann, S. A., & Kolodziejczyk, A. A. (2017). Single cell transcriptomics of pluripotent stem cells: Reprogramming and differentiation. Current Opinion in Genetics & Development, 46, 66–76. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gde.2017.06.003.
Labriola, N. R., & Darling, E. M. (2015). Temporal heterogeneity in single-cell gene expression and mechanical properties during adipogenic differentiation. Journal of Biomechanics, 48(6), 1058–1066. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbiomech.2015.01.033.
Gibson, J. D., Jakuba, C. M., Boucher, N., Holbrook, K. A., Carter, M. G., & Nelson, C. E. (2009). Single-cell transcript analysis of human embryonic stem cells. Integrative Biology: Quantitative Biosciences from Nano to Macro, 1(8–9), 540–551. https://doi.org/10.1039/b908276j.
Moussy, A., Cosette, J., Parmentier, R., Silva, C., da Corre, G., Richard, A., et al. (2017). Integrated time-lapse and single-cell transcription studies highlight the variable and dynamic nature of human hematopoietic cell fate commitment. PLoS Biology, 15(7), e2001867. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.2001867.
Skylaki, S., Hilsenbeck, O., & Schroeder, T. (2016). Challenges in long-term imaging and quantification of single-cell dynamics. Nature Biotechnology, 34(11), 1137–1144. https://doi.org/10.1038/nbt.3713.
Zhong, J. F., Weiner, L., Jin, Y., Lu, W., & Taylor, C. R. (2010). A real-time pluripotency reporter for human stem cells. Stem Cells and Development, 19(1), 47–52. https://doi.org/10.1089/scd.2008.0363.
Desai, H. V., Voruganti, I. S., Jayasuriya, C., Chen, Q., & Darling, E. M. (2014). Live-cell, temporal gene expression analysis of osteogenic differentiation in adipose-derived stem cells. Tissue Engineering A, 20(5–6), 899–907. https://doi.org/10.1089/ten.tea.2013.0761.
Yuan, G.-C., Cai, L., Elowitz, M., Enver, T., Fan, G., Guo, G., et al. (2017). Challenges and emerging directions in single-cell analysis. Genome Biology, 18(1), 84. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13059-017-1218-y.
Liu, H., Yang, H., Zhu, D., Sui, X., Li, J., Liang, Z., et al. (2014). Systematically labeling developmental stage-specific genes for the study of pancreatic β-cell differentiation from human embryonic stem cells. Cell Research, 24(10), 1181–1200. https://doi.org/10.1038/cr.2014.118.
Rodrigues, G. M. C., Gaj, T., Adil, M. M., Wahba, J., Rao, A. T., Lorbeer, F. K., et al. (2017). Defined and scalable differentiation of human oligodendrocyte precursors from pluripotent stem cells in a 3D culture system. Stem Cell Reports, 8(6), 1770–1783. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stemcr.2017.04.027.
Low, K., Wong, L. Y., Maldonado, M., Manjunath, C., Horner, C. B., Perez, M., et al. (2017). Physico-electrochemical characterization of pluripotent stem cells during self-renewal or differentiation by a multi-modal monitoring system. Stem Cell Reports, 8(5), 1329–1339. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stemcr.2017.03.021.
Seidel, D., Obendorf, J., Englich, B., Jahnke, H.-G., Semkova, V., Haupt, S., et al. (2016). Impedimetric real-time monitoring of neural pluripotent stem cell differentiation process on microelectrode arrays. Biosensors & Bioelectronics, 86, 277–286. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bios.2016.06.056.
Kallepitis, C., Bergholt, M. S., Mazo, M. M., Leonardo, V., Skaalure, S. C., Maynard, S. A., et al. (2017). Quantitative volumetric Raman imaging of three dimensional cell cultures. Nature Communications. https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms14843.
Belair, D. G., Whisler, J. A., Valdez, J., Velazquez, J., Molenda, J. A., Vickerman, V., et al. (2015). Human vascular tissue models formed from human induced pluripotent stem cell derived endothelial cells. Stem Cell Reviews, 11(3), 511–525. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12015-014-9549-5.
Hesari, Z., Soleimani, M., Atyabi, F., Sharifdini, M., Nadri, S., Warkiani, M. E., et al. (2016). A hybrid microfluidic system for regulation of neural differentiation in induced pluripotent stem cells. Journal of Biomedical Materials Research A, 104(6), 1534–1543. https://doi.org/10.1002/jbm.a.35689.
Li, F., Truong, V. X., Thissen, H., Frith, J. E., & Forsythe, J. S. (2017). Microfluidic encapsulation of human mesenchymal stem cells for articular cartilage tissue regeneration. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 9(10), 8589–8601. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.7b00728.
Fung, W.-T., Beyzavi, A., Abgrall, P., Nguyen, N.-T., & Li, H.-Y. (2009). Microfluidic platform for controlling the differentiation of embryoid bodies. Lab on a chip, 9(17), 2591–2595. https://doi.org/10.1039/b903753e.
Kamei, K., Mashimo, Y., Yoshioka, M., Tokunaga, Y., Fockenberg, C., Terada, S., et al. (2017). Microfluidic-nanofiber hybrid array for screening of cellular microenvironments. Small (Weinheim an der Bergstrasse, Germany), 13(18), 1603104. https://doi.org/10.1002/smll.201603104.
Khoury, M., Bransky, A., Korin, N., Konak, L. C., Enikolopov, G., Tzchori, I., et al. (2010). A microfluidic traps system supporting prolonged culture of human embryonic stem cells aggregates. Biomedical Microdevices, 12(6), 1001–1008. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10544-010-9454-x.
Chan, H. F., Zhang, Y., Ho, Y.-P., Chiu, Y.-L., Jung, Y., & Leong, K. W. (2013). Rapid formation of multicellular spheroids in double-emulsion droplets with controllable microenvironment. Scientific Reports. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep03462.
Cimetta, E., Sirabella, D., Yeager, K., Davidson, K., Simon, J., Moon, R. T., et al. (2013). Microfluidic bioreactor for dynamic regulation of early mesodermal commitment in human pluripotent stem cells. Lab on a chip, 13(3), 355–364. https://doi.org/10.1039/c2lc40836h.
Occhetta, P., Centola, M., Tonnarelli, B., Redaelli, A., Martin, I., & Rasponi, M. (2015). High-throughput microfluidic platform for 3D cultures of mesenchymal stem cells, towards engineering developmental processes. Scientific Reports. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep10288.
Wilson, J. L., Suri, S., Singh, A., Rivet, C. A., Lu, H., & McDevitt, T. C. (2013). Single-cell analysis of embryoid body heterogeneity using microfluidic trapping array. Biomedical Microdevices. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10544-013-9807-3.
Siltanen, C., Yaghoobi, M., Haque, A., You, J., Lowen, J., Soleimani, M., et al. (2016). Microfluidic fabrication of bioactive microgels for rapid formation and enhanced differentiation of stem cell spheroids. Acta Biomaterialia, 34, 125–132. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actbio.2016.01.012.
Uzel, S. G. M., Amadi, O. C., Pearl, T. M., Lee, R. T., So, P. T. C., & Kamm, R. D. (2016). Simultaneous or sequential orthogonal gradient formation in a 3D cell culture microfluidic platform. Small (Weinheim an der Bergstrasse, Germany), 12(5), 612–622. https://doi.org/10.1002/smll.201501905.
Kamei, K.-I., Koyama, Y., Tokunaga, Y., Mashimo, Y., Yoshioka, M., Fockenberg, C., et al. (2016). Characterization of phenotypic and transcriptional differences in human pluripotent stem cells under 2D and 3D culture conditions. Advanced Healthcare Materials, 5(22), 2951–2958. https://doi.org/10.1002/adhm.201600893.
Hirano, K., Konagaya, S., Turner, A., Noda, Y., Kitamura, S., Kotera, H., et al. (2017). Closed-channel culture system for efficient and reproducible differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells into islet cells. Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications, 487(2), 344–350. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbrc.2017.04.062.
Tabata, Y., & Lutolf, M. P. (2017). Multiscale microenvironmental perturbation of pluripotent stem cell fate and self-organization. Scientific Reports. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep44711.
Kondo, Y., Hattori, K., Tashiro, S., Nakatani, E., Yoshimitsu, R., Satoh, T., et al. (2017). Compartmentalized microfluidic perfusion system to culture human induced pluripotent stem cell aggregates. Journal of Bioscience and Bioengineering, 124(2), 234–241. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbiosc.2017.03.014.
Pagano, G., Ventre, M., Iannone, M., Greco, F., Maffettone, P. L., & Netti, P. A. (2014). Optimizing design and fabrication of microfluidic devices for cell cultures: An effective approach to control cell microenvironment in three dimensions. Biomicrofluidics, 8(4), 46503. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4893913.
Jeon, J. S., Bersini, S., Whisler, J. A., Chen, M. B., Dubini, G., Charest, J. L., et al. (2014). Generation of 3D functional microvascular networks with human mesenchymal stem cells in microfluidic systems. Integrative Biology: Quantitative Biosciences from Nano to Macro, 6(5), 555–563. https://doi.org/10.1039/c3ib40267c.
Headen, D. M., Aubry, G., Lu, H., & García, A. J. (2014). Microfluidic-based generation of size-controlled, biofunctionalized synthetic polymer microgels for cell encapsulation. Advanced Materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.). https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.201304880.
Lienemann, P. S., Devaud, Y. R., Reuten, R., Simona, B. R., Karlsson, M., Weber, W., et al. (2014). Locally controlling mesenchymal stem cell morphogenesis by 3D PDGF-BB gradients towards the establishment of an in vitro perivascular niche. Integrative Biology, 7(1), 101–111. https://doi.org/10.1039/C4IB00152D.
Utech, S., Prodanovic, R., Mao, A. S., Ostafe, R., Mooney, D. J., & Weitz, D. A. (2015). Microfluidic generation of monodisperse, structurally homogeneous alginate microgels for cell encapsulation and 3D cell culture. Advanced Healthcare Materials, 4(11), 1628–1633. https://doi.org/10.1002/adhm.201500021.
Hasenberg, T., Mühleder, S., Dotzler, A., Bauer, S., Labuda, K., Holnthoner, W., et al. (2015). Emulating human microcapillaries in a multi-organ-chip platform. Journal of Biotechnology, 216, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbiotec.2015.09.038.
Hsieh, W.-T., Liu, Y.-S., Lee, Y.-H., Rimando, M. G., Lin, K.-H., & Lee, O. K. (2016). Matrix dimensionality and stiffness cooperatively regulate osteogenesis of mesenchymal stromal cells. Acta Biomaterialia, 32, 210–222. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actbio.2016.01.010.
Lück, S., Schubel, R., Rüb, J., Hahn, D., Mathieu, E., Zimmermann, H., et al. (2016). Tailored and biodegradable poly(2-oxazoline) microbeads as 3D matrices for stem cell culture in regenerative therapies. Biomaterials, 79, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biomaterials.2015.11.045.
Liu, M., Zhou, Z., Chai, Y., Zhang, S., Wu, X., Huang, S., et al. (2017). Synthesis of cell composite alginate microfibers by microfluidics with the application potential of small diameter vascular grafts. Biofabrication, 9(2), 25030. https://doi.org/10.1088/1758-5090/aa71da.
Kamperman, T., Henke, S., Visser, C. W., Karperien, M., & Leijten, J. (2017). Centering single cells in microgels via delayed crosslinking supports long-term 3D culture by preventing cell escape. Small (Weinheim an der Bergstrasse, Germany). https://doi.org/10.1002/smll.201603711.
Du, X., Huang, F., Zhang, S., Yao, Y., Chen, Y., Chen, Y., et al. (2017). Carboxymethylcellulose with phenolic hydroxyl microcapsules enclosinggene-modified BMSCs for controlled BMP-2 release in vitro. Artificial Cells, Nanomedicine, and Biotechnology. https://doi.org/10.1080/21691401.2017.1282499.
Hou, Y., Xie, W., Achazi, K., Cuellar-Camacho, J. L., Melzig, M. F., Chen, W., et al. (2018). Injectable degradable PVA microgels prepared by microfluidic technology for controlled osteogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells. Acta Biomaterialia. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actbio.2018.07.003.
Toh, Y.-C., Zhang, C., Zhang, J., Khong, Y. M., Chang, S., Samper, V. D., et al. (2007). A novel 3D mammalian cell perfusion-culture system in microfluidic channels. Lab on a Chip, 7(3), 302–309. https://doi.org/10.1039/b614872g.
Choi, J., Kim, S., Jung, J., Lim, Y., Kang, K., Park, S., et al. (2011). Wnt5a-mediating neurogenesis of human adipose tissue-derived stem cells in a 3D microfluidic cell culture system. Biomaterials, 32(29), 7013–7022. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biomaterials.2011.05.090.
Sart, S., Tomasi, R., Amselem, G., & Baroud, C. N. (2017). Multiscale cytometry and regulation of 3D Cell cultures on a chip. Nature Communications, 8, 469
Chau, M., Abolhasani, M., Thérien-Aubin, H., Li, Y., Wang, Y., Velasco, D., et al. (2014). Microfluidic generation of composite biopolymer microgels with tunable compositions and mechanical properties. Biomacromolecules, 15(7), 2419–2425. https://doi.org/10.1021/bm5002813.
Sikorski, D. J., Caron, N. J., VanInsberghe, M., Zahn, H., Eaves, C. J., Piret, J. M., et al. (2015). Clonal analysis of individual human embryonic stem cell differentiation patterns in microfluidic cultures. Biotechnology Journal, 10(10), 1546–1554. https://doi.org/10.1002/biot.201500035.
Hu, G., & Li, D. (2007). Three-dimensional modeling of transport of nutrients for multicellular tumor spheroid culture in a microchannel. Biomedical Microdevices, 9(3), 315–323. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10544-006-9035-1.
Kutejova, E., Briscoe, J., & Kicheva, A. (2009). Temporal dynamics of patterning by morphogen gradients. Current Opinion in Genetics & Development, 19(4), 315–322. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gde.2009.05.004.
Toh, A. G. G., Wang, Z. P., Yang, C., & Nguyen, N.-T. (2014). Engineering microfluidic concentration gradient generators for biological applications. Microfluidics and Nanofluidics, 16(1–2), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10404-013-1236-3.
Suri, S., Singh, A., Nguyen, A. H., Bratt-Leal, A. M., McDevitt, T. C., & Lu, H. (2013). Microfluidic-based patterning of embryonic stem cells for in vitro development studies. Lab on a Chip, 13(23), 4617–4624. https://doi.org/10.1039/c3lc50663k.
Wang, X., Liu, Z., & Pang, Y. (2017). Concentration gradient generation methods based on microfluidic systems. RSC Advances, 7(48), 29966–29984. https://doi.org/10.1039/C7RA04494A.
Kamei, K., Mashimo, Y., Koyama, Y., Fockenberg, C., Nakashima, M., Nakajima, M., et al. (2015). 3D printing of soft lithography mold for rapid production of polydimethylsiloxane-based microfluidic devices for cell stimulation with concentration gradients. Biomedical Microdevices, 17(2), 36. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10544-015-9928-y.
Cosson, S., & Lutolf, M. P. (2014). Hydrogel microfluidics for the patterning of pluripotent stem cells. Scientific Reports. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep04462.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Sart, S., Agathos, S.N. Towards Three-Dimensional Dynamic Regulation and In Situ Characterization of Single Stem Cell Phenotype Using Microfluidics. Mol Biotechnol 60, 843–861 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12033-018-0113-4
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12033-018-0113-4