Transwells with microstamped membranes produce micropatterned two-dimensional and three-dimensional co-cultures

Tissue Eng Part C Methods. 2011 Jan;17(1):61-7. doi: 10.1089/ten.TEC.2010.0305. Epub 2010 Aug 26.

Abstract

This article describes a simple and rapid cell patterning method to form co-culture microarrays in commercially available Transwells. A thin poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) layer is printed on the underside of a Transwell using a PDMS stamp. Arbitrary cellular patterns are generated according to the geometric features of the thin PDMS layer through hydrodynamic forces that guide cells onto the membrane only over the PDMS-uncoated regions. Micropatterns of surface-adhered cells (we refer to this as two-dimensional) or non-surface-adhered clusters of cells (we refer to this as three-dimensional) can be generated depending on the surface treatment of the filter membrane. Additionally, co-cultures can be established by introducing different types of cells on the membrane or in the bottom chamber of the Transwell. We show that this co-culture method can evaluate mouse embryonic stem (mES) cell differentiation based on heterogeneous cell-cell interactions. Co-culture of mES cells and HepG2 cells decreased SOX17 expression of mES cells, and direct cell-cell contact further decreased SOX17 expression, indicating that co-culture with HepG2 cells inhibits endoderm differentiation through soluble factors and cell-cell contact. This method is simple and user-friendly and should be broadly useful to study cell shapes and cell-cell interactions.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • COS Cells
  • Cell Communication
  • Cell Differentiation
  • Cell Line
  • Cell Shape
  • Coculture Techniques / instrumentation*
  • Coculture Techniques / methods
  • Culture Media
  • Dimethylpolysiloxanes / chemistry
  • Embryonic Stem Cells / cytology
  • Green Fluorescent Proteins / metabolism
  • HMGB Proteins / metabolism
  • Hep G2 Cells
  • Humans
  • Hydrodynamics
  • Materials Testing
  • Mice
  • SOXF Transcription Factors / metabolism
  • Surface Properties
  • Tissue Array Analysis*
  • Tissue Engineering / instrumentation
  • Tissue Engineering / methods

Substances

  • Culture Media
  • Dimethylpolysiloxanes
  • HMGB Proteins
  • SOXF Transcription Factors
  • Sox17 protein, mouse
  • Green Fluorescent Proteins
  • baysilon