Patterning Mammalian Cells for Modeling Three Types of Naturally Occurring Cell-Cell Interactions

摘要

Herein we report a method for the simulation of three types of cell-cell interactions in vitro on the same substrate by using selective modification of the surface by microfluidic channels. In vivo interactions between different types of cells include the following types: 1) those between two types of cells that are both immobilized and confined to isolated areas (for brevity, we call this kind of interaction "type I"), for example, epithelial cells and fibroblasts, and epithelial cells and polar cells during ovarian development; 2) those between one cell type that is immobile and another that moves freely ("type IF'), such as glial cells and neurons during the development of the nervous system and in various neurodegenerative disorders and 3) those between two or more types of cells that are both moving freely ("type III"), for example, hepatocytes and fibroblasts in the liver.