3D Culture of Neural Stem Cells
Stem cell research is a fast growing field due to its extraordinary differentiation potential for regenerative medicine. There is an increasing demand for this branch of research because a critical cell count must be met to demonstrate therapeutic effect. Transplantation of neural stem cells (NSC) in diseased or injured brain tissue is widely studied as a potential treatment for various neurological pathologies. However, effective cell replacement therapy relies on the intrinsic capacity of cellular grafts to overcome hypoxic and/or immunological barriers after transplantation.
Cell culture techniques are ubiquitous in areas of developmental biology, drug discovery, regenerative medicine and protein production. Since the introduction of cell culture techniques, cells have been cultured in two-dimensions, attached to tissue culture plasticware or ECM attachment proteins. In vitro experimental data cannot be translated into clinical trials completely when cells are grown in 2D conditions since complicated cellular signals between cells and its matrix cannot be reproduced. 3D cell models now are increasingly needed and also employed as a significant platform in the academy and pharmaceutical industry. And it’s a trend to substitute the 2D cell culture with the more versatile 3D version.
With rich experience and the latest methods in the field of cells products supply, Creative Bioarray brings out 3D-based Neural stem cell services to better meet the research needs from various clients. We are engaging ourselves in providing first-class 3D-based cell services, which is much superior in mimicking the state of living organism from process to result. 3D cells models bring inter-communications among the cells, and between cells and their microenvironments, enable more thoroughly observation for diseases studies, especially in neurodegenerative disease studies.
In Creative Bioarray, our objective is to create novel three-dimensional (3D) culture systems for rapid stem cell expansion. The final product design focuses on physical topography and surface treatment of our proposed 3D system. 3D systems offer exponentially increased surface area for cell attachment requisite for cellular expansion. Creative Bioarray conducts the custom 3D-based cell services with the comprehensive and advanced 3D culture systems in the field including scaffold-based and scaffold-free cell culture technologies to ensure the best result for your research goals. Creative Bioarray provides 3D cell culture techniques for culturing neural stem cells and neurons which are highly useful tools for studying neurogenesis, neuropathology, toxicology and effects of new drug targets.
Fig. 1 Phenotypic analysis of 2D and 3D NSC cultures. NSC in 2D culture (left column, 2D NSC) and NSC in 3D culture (3D NSC) were analyzed by immunocytochemical staining for neural stem cell markers BLBP and SOX2.
Due to their self-renewal capacity and their differentiation potential into neurons, astrocytes and oligodendrocytes, neural stem cells (NSC) are currently considered as ideal therapeutic candidates for the treatment of various neurodegenerative diseases and traumata to the central nervous system (CNS). 3D culture of NSC offers many benefits, ranging from dynamic growth processes to the creation of gradients, which resemble the in vivo situation and are crucial in many biological processes. 3D in vitro models of cell culture aim to fill the gap between the standard two-dimensional cell studies and the in vivo environment. Especially for neural tissue regeneration approaches where there is little regenerative capacity, these models are important for mimicking the extracellular matrix in providing support, allowing the natural flow of oxygen, nutrients, and growth factors, and possibly favoring neural cell regrowth.
Fig. 2 Differentiation of mouse NsCs in 3D and 2D conditions, after 7 days in culture.
Creative Bioarray developed 3D cell culture system that takes advantage of the nano- and microfiber assembling process, under physiologic conditions, of these biomaterials. The use of such systems overcomes some of the limitations of standard 2D culture systems in which neural cells are cultured as a monolayer. The recapitulation of the complex microenvironment in which neural cells exists allows 3D culture systems to bridge the gap between traditional cell culture approaches and in vivo models such as transgenic mice. By mimicking the "stem cell niche" and physiological environments both mechanically and spatially, the crosstalk between the cells and environment leads to a closer scenario to what can be seen in the brain.
Advantages
Cellular events in 3D culture resemble physiological conditions closely.
Stem cells grown in 3D exhibit significantly higher differentiation potential.
Drug safety and efficacy studies are efficient and relatively easier to perform in 3D cultures reducing the time spent in drug discovery by pharmaceutical companies.
3D cultures provide better data in the prediction of drug resistance.
Viral pathogenesis including viral growth, infection and pathogen-host interactions can be studied with reduced hazard levels using 3D models.
The evolution of 3D cell culture of neural stem cells in Creative Bioarray has the potential to bridge the gap between in vitro and in vivo experiments. The convenience of handling cells in vitro while obtaining results that reflect in vivo condition and avoiding ethical concerns of animal usage is making 3D cell culture techniques increasingly popular among researchers. Based on experienced research on our three-dimensional (3D) cell culture platform, with the well-established static and fluidic 3D cell culture systems, Creative Bioarray provides services include, but are not limited to, establishment and optimization of experimental protocols, a series of in vitro analysis and screening (e.g., penetrability analysis, toxicity analysis and targeting analysis), as well as design custom in vitro 3D models). Creative Bioarray is experienced and dedicated to helping customers in areas of 3D cell culture and analysis.
References
De Waele J, et al. 3D culture of murine neural stem cells on decellularized mouse brain sections. Biomaterials. 2015; 41: 122–131.
Nierode GJ, et al. High-Throughput Toxicity and Phenotypic Screening of 3D Human Neural Progenitor Cell Cultures on a Microarray Chip Platform. Stem Cell Reports. 2016; 7: 970–982.
Ko KR, Frampton JP. Developments in 3D neural cell culture models: the future of neurotherapeutics testing? Expert Rev Neurother. 2016; 16: 739–741.
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