Issue 2, 2018

Design of biomimetic substrates for long-term maintenance of alveolar epithelial cells

Abstract

There is a need to establish in vitro lung alveolar epithelial culture models to better understand the fundamental biological mechanisms that drive lung diseases. While primary alveolar epithelial cells (AEC) are a useful option to study mature lung biology, they have limited utility in vitro. Cells that survive demonstrate limited proliferative capacity and loss of phenotype over the first 3–5 days in traditional culture conditions. To address this limitation, we generated a novel physiologically relevant cell culture system for enhanced viability and maintenance of phenotype. Here we describe a method utilizing e-beam lithography, reactive ion etching, and replica molding to generate poly-dimethylsiloxane (PDMS) substrates containing hemispherical cavities that mimic the architecture and size of mouse and human alveoli. Primary AECs grown on these cavity-containing substrates form a monolayer that conforms to the substrate enabling precise control over cell sheet architecture. AECs grown in cavity culture conditions remain viable and maintain their phenotype over one week. Specifically, cells grown on substrates consisting of 50 μm diameter cavities remained 96 ± 4% viable and maintained expression of surfactant protein C (SPC), a marker of type 2 AEC over 7 days. While this report focuses on primary lung alveolar epithelial cells, our culture platform is potentially relevant and useful for growing primary cells from other tissues with similar cavity-like architecture and could be further adapted to other biomimetic shapes or contours.

Graphical abstract: Design of biomimetic substrates for long-term maintenance of alveolar epithelial cells

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
20 Qad 2017
Accepted
04 Qun 2018
First published
04 Qun 2018

Biomater. Sci., 2018,6, 292-303

Design of biomimetic substrates for long-term maintenance of alveolar epithelial cells

J. C. H. Poon, Z. Liao, T. Suzuki, M. M. Carleton, J. P. Soleas, J. S. Aitchison, G. Karoubi, A. P. McGuigan and T. K. Waddell, Biomater. Sci., 2018, 6, 292 DOI: 10.1039/C7BM00647K

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements