构建大段组织工程骨的新型生物反应器的设计与制造

目的:设计、制造一种新的灌注式生物反应器,专门用于高效地构建大体积、β-磷酸三钙组织工程骨。方法:在普通模式灌注生物反应器的灌流室内生成间断性低压环境(-0.01 mpa,0.5 Hz),用材料色素颗粒洗脱实验进行验证后,将复合兔骨髓间充质干细胞的大段、管状β-磷酸三钙材料分别在静态、反应器内常压灌注和间断低压灌注三种环境下培养4周。期间收集培养液检测葡萄糖日耗量、细胞活力(MTT比色法)、碱性磷酸酶比活性、骨桥蛋白水平,并进行硬组织切片检查。结果:色素颗粒洗脱实验证明,间断性低压可以改善低流量液流在材料内的分布;在培养2周和4周时,负压灌注组日均葡萄糖消耗量和细胞活力均显著高于常压灌注组:(t=20.254 P<0.05,t=64.794 P<0.05)及(t=17.586 P<0.05,t=7.583 P<0.05);碱性磷酸酶(ALP)比活性测定和骨桥蛋白水平(OPN)反映间断低压灌注组中骨髓间充质细胞向成骨细胞分化效率更高,但高峰相晚于常压灌注组和静态培养组;在间断低压灌注组中材料深部的占孔率最高,并且分布更均匀。结论:此新型灌注式生物反应器适用于构建大体积、特殊构型组织工程骨;其高效的促进细胞增殖效应可减少初始复合的种子细胞数量,缩短构建周期。     

基于微生物的可控生物制造

微生物种类丰富,尺寸涵盖纳米与微米级,是天然的可用于纳米、微米及多层次跨尺度加工的"基本单元"。目前的生物制造方法大多不适用于微生物活细胞,无法发挥其整体的生物学功能及优势。本研究探索并建立了微流控和磁控的可用于微生物活体的微纳米生物制造新方法,定位操纵和有序排列微生物活体。以微生物为微纳米机器人,诱发其特有的生物学功能,进行受控自组装等生物制造过程,由此有望设计和创制一系列新型特殊功能材料和器件。     

不同材质微芯片内细胞生长状态分析

微系统技术在细胞生物学方面的研究中已得到广泛应用。了解细胞在微系统芯片内的生长状态,对于利用微系统技术进行细胞研究有重要的指导意义。玻璃和聚二甲基硅氧烷（polydimethylsiloxane,PDMS）是目前制作细胞培养微芯片的主要材料。通过向以二者为基底材料制作的细胞培养微芯片内导入内皮细胞进行培养,利用实验室构建的细胞成像分析系统观察和分析细胞在不同基底材料的芯片内5天的增殖情况,同时研究了基底材料的预处理方法以及培养基对细胞增殖的影响。     

连续灌流培养杂交瘤细胞生产单克隆抗体

自 2 0世纪 70年代以来 ,工程抗体在基础医学研究、临床诊断和治疗 ,以及免疫预防等领域中的广泛应用 ,大大促进了其产业化的进程。目前工业化生产单克隆抗体的主要方法是通过发酵罐、中空纤维和固定床等生物反应器培养系统 ,以微载体、微包囊法在体外大规模高密度培养杂交瘤细胞 ,再通过相关的纯化手段浓缩纯化制备抗体[1 ,2 ] 。就操作方式而言 ,一般采用两个基本策略 :①大容量高密度的悬浮培养 ,最多采用的是搅拌式气升式生物反应器 ,通过微载体依托细胞相对固定化 ,降低了搅拌培养时对细胞的剪切力 ,提高细胞的密度和稳定性及生产率。…     

小鼠前成骨细胞MC3T3-E1在自组装多肽水凝胶支架中的成骨分化

目的研究MC3T3-E1细胞在自组装多肽水凝胶支架上的生长和成骨分化.方法在多肽水凝胶支架RADA16上接种MC3T3-E1细胞,荧光染色观察细胞形态和存活情况;组织化学染色检测MC3T3-E1细胞碱性磷酸酶活性以及细胞外钙质沉积;RT-PCR分析成骨特异性基因的表达.结果 MC3T3-E1细胞在水凝胶支架RADA16上粘附铺展良好,呈纺锤样形态.诱导培养后支架上的细胞有较高水平的碱性磷酸酶表达和矿化基质沉积.此外,骨分化特异性基因骨桥蛋白和骨涎蛋白也有表达,且表达量随培养时间的延长而增多.结论 在自组装水凝胶内MC3T3-E1细胞可向成骨方向分化,并能在凝胶内产生矿化的细胞外基质.     

Vero细胞微载体培养的化学成分明确无血清培养基的设计

目的：设计适用于Vero细胞微载体培养的化学成分明确无血清培养基。方法：以商品化的DMEM／F12合成培养基为基础培养基,应用Plackett—Burman实验设计和响应面分析法设计支持Vero细胞微载体培养的化学成分明确无血清培养基。结果：以细胞密度为评价指标,在单因素实验的基础上采用Plackett-Burman实验设计考察10种培养基添加成分对Vero细胞生长的影响,确定了3种对Vero细胞生长起明显促进作用的培养基添加成分,为胰岛素、血清素和腐胺。继而利用响应面法分析了这3种添加成分的最佳水平范围,设计了一种支持Vero细胞贴附培养的无血清培养基（VERO—SFM—A）。在Bellco搅拌式培养瓶中采用VERO-SFM．A和Cytodex1微载体培养Vero细胞,细胞密度由接种时的4×10^5cells／ml增加到培养6d后的22．3×10^cells／ml,细胞活力保持在96％以上。结论：VERO—SFM—A能够有效地支持Vero细胞在微载体表面固定化生长并达到较高的细胞密度,具有实际应用于Vero细胞微载体规模化培养的应用潜力。     

β-TCP支架体外构建组织工程骨及其流体力学研究

骨髓基质干细胞在β-tricalciumphosphate(β-TCP)支架上分别进行了1、2和4周的三维动态培养,对支架上不同时间和部位的细胞面积/微孔面积及支架动态培养的流体环境进行了研究.研究表明,第1周细胞在支架大部分孔道内粘附生长并出现一定区域的单细胞层和多细胞层,第2周部分区域的部分孔道已填满了细胞并出现多细胞层,第4周大部分孔道几乎填满了细胞,主管道内壁出现了较多的细胞生长.同时发现,支架上各个区域细胞粘附面积不等,部分区域无细胞存在,有的部位2周后细胞逐渐减少.为了研究支架各个位置细胞増殖与流速、剪切应力的关系,建立了支架随机孔道结构的流体分析模型,通过支架上流速和剪切应力分布探讨实验中细胞分布现象的机理.结合计算和实验发现,流体能流到的部位几乎都有细胞生长,细胞生长较快的部位速度大多集中在0.24～0.53mm/s,剪切力大多在0.0050～0.023Pa,主管道底部及靠近进口的部位可能存在由于过大的剪切力影响细胞生长的区域.上述结果在一定程度上反映了细胞-支架-流体三者在成骨转化过程中的作用,对指导体外灌注培养的流量确定、灌注工艺及骨转化动力学研究有重要的意义.     

动物细胞培养用生物反应器及相关技术

动物细胞大量培养是生产生物制品的重要途径,它用到的关键设备是生物反应器。根据培养细胞、培养载体、培养液混合方式的不同,生物反应器主要有搅拌式、气升式、中空纤维式、回转式等,其中搅拌式规模最大。回转式是NASA于20世纪90年代中期开发的一种新型生物反应器,被誉为空间生物反应器,可用于组织工程研究。与生物反应器配套的技术主要有灌注、微载体、多孔微球、转入抗凋亡基因等,可以有效地提高细胞密度,增加生物制品产量,提高质量。今后生物反应器研制主要朝两个方向发展:一是,以高密度培养动物细胞生产蛋白质药物为目的,二是以三维培养动物细胞(主要是人类细胞)再生组织或器官为目的。     

明胶微球在骨组织工程中的应用

骨组织工程通过联合利用种子细胞、生物活性因子和支架材料等要素来构建骨组织再生微环境,从而促进骨缺损的修复重建来诱导骨再生。明胶微球具有多孔性、生物降解性、生物相容性及生物安全性等优势,是一种极具应用潜能的骨修复材料。明胶微球用于体外培养种子细胞时可实现高效扩增。多官能团结构使其可作为促血管再生因子、促骨再生因子及抗感染因子等多种药物的递送载体,缓释药物的同时也可实现微球的多功能化。在构建明胶微球支架时与其他生物材料复合及血管化性能的赋予可提高支架材料的综合性能,但目前支架的设计还存在如何兼顾材料多孔结构和力学性能的问题。本文主要综述了明胶微球的常见制备技术及其近年来在骨组织工程中的应用,并对未来的发展前景进行展望。     

应用多种水凝胶支架材料构建三维神经干细胞培养模型

该研究以鼠尾胶原、透明质酸以及海藻酸钠为主要成分,同时添加功能化的层粘连蛋白形成12种生物材料支架。应用大鼠神经干细胞(rat neural stem cells,r NSCs)体外培养,比较了支架的生物相容性和功能特点。结果显示,鼠尾胶原和透明质酸支架形成的三维多孔结构利于r NSCs的黏附,培养7 d后,1 mg/m L胶原组内的细胞活力更强,而含15%交联剂的层粘连蛋白–透明质酸支架内细胞与神经突触相互缠绕,展现出更明显的神经元样生理形态和特异性蛋白。1.5%海藻酸钠胶珠内的细胞呈球体生长,更适用于进行细胞的大规模动态培养。该研究构建的支架与r NSCs具有良好的生物相容性,利于其增殖和分化。因此,r NSCs分化后的神经元与水凝胶构成的三维培养模型,有望进一步应用于神经退行性疾病的研究和相关药物检测中。     

3D culture of osteoblast‐like cells by unidirectional or oscillatory flow for bone tissue engineering

A medium perfusion system is expected to be beneficial for three‐dimensional (3D) culture of engineered bone, not only by chemotransport enhancement but also by mechanical stimulation. In this study, perfusion systems with either unidirectional or oscillatory medium flow were developed, and the effects of the different flow profiles on 3D culturing of engineered bone were studied. Mouse osteoblast‐like MC 3T3‐E1 cells were 3D‐cultured with porous ceramic scaffolds in vitro for 6 days under static and hydrodynamic conditions with either a unidirectional or oscillatory flow. We found that, in the static culture, the cells proliferated only on the scaffold surfaces. In perfusion culture with the unidirectional flow, the proliferation was significantly higher than in the other groups but was very inhomogeneous, which made the construct unsuitable for transplantation. Only the oscillatory flow allowed osteogenic cells to proliferate uniformly throughout the scaffolds, and also increased the activity of alkaline phosphatase (ALP). These results suggested that oscillatory flow might be better than unidirectional flow for 3D construction of cell‐seeded artificial bone. The oscillatory perfusion system could be a compact, safe, and efficient bioreactor for bone tissue engineering. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2009;102: 1670–1678. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Three-dimensional cell seeding and growth in radial-flow perfusion bioreactor for in vitro tissue reconstruction

Radial-flow perfusion bioreactor systems have been designed and evaluated to enable direct cell seeding into a three-dimensional (3-D) porous scaffold and subsequent cell culture for in vitro tissue reconstruction. However, one of the limitations of in vitro regeneration is the tissue necrosis that occurs at the central part of the 3-D scaffold. In the present study, tubular poly-L-lactic acid (PLLA) porous scaffolds with an optimized pore size and porosity were prepared by the lyophilization method, and the effect of different perfusion conditions on cell seeding and growth were compared with those of the conventional static culture. The medium flowed radially from the lumen toward the periphery of the tubular scaffolds. It was found that cell seeding under a radial-flow perfusion condition of 1.1 mL/cm2 x min was effective, and that the optimal flow rate for cell growth was 4.0 mL/cm2 x min. At this optimal rate, the increase in seeded cells in the perfusion culture over a period of 5 days was 7.3-fold greater than that by static culture over the same period. The perfusion cell seeding resulted in a uniform distribution of cells throughout the scaffold. Subsequently, the perfusion of medium and hence the provision of nutrients and oxygen permitted growth and maintenance of the tissue throughout the scaffold. The perfusion seeding/culture system was a much more effective strategy than the conventional system in which cells are seeded under a static condition and cultured in a bioreactor such as a spinner flask.     

Uniform tissues engineered by seeding and culturing cells in 3D scaffolds under perfusion at defined oxygen tensions

In this work, we assessed whether culture of uniformly seeded chondrocytes under direct perfusion, which supplies the cells with normoxic oxygen levels, can maintain a uniform distribution of viable cells throughout porous scaffolds several milimeters in thickness, and support the development of uniform tissue grafts. An integrated bioreactor system was first developed to streamline the steps of perfusion cell seeding of porous scaffolds and perfusion culture of the cell-seeded scaffolds. Oxygen tensions in perfused constructs were monitored by in-line oxygen sensors incorporated at the construct inlet and outlet. Adult human articular chondrocytes were perfusion-seeded into 4.5 mm thick foam scaffolds at a rate of 1 mm/s. Cell-seeded foams were then either cultured statically in dishes or further cultured under perfusion at a rate of 100 microm/s for 2 weeks. Following perfusion seeding, viable cells were uniformly distributed throughout the foams. Constructs subsequently cultured statically were highly heterogeneous, with cells and matrix concentrated at the construct periphery. In contrast, constructs cultured under perfusion were highly homogeneous, with uniform distributions of cells and matrix. Oxygen tensions of the perfused medium were maintained near normoxic levels (inlet congruent with 20%, outlet > 15%) at all times of culture. We have demonstrated that perfusion culture of cells seeded uniformly within porous scaffolds, at a flow rate maintaining a homogeneous oxygen supply, supports the development of uniform engineering tissue grafts of clinically relevant thicknesses.     

Regulation of autocrine fibroblast growth factor‐2 signaling by perfusion flow in 3D human mesenchymal stem cell constructs

Perfusion bioreactor systems play a crucial role in mitigating nutrient limitation as well as providing biomechanical stimuli and redistributing regulatory macromolecules that influence human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSC) fate in three‐dimensional (3D) scaffolds. As fibroblast growth factor‐2 (FGF‐2) is known to regulate hMSC phenotype, understanding the role of autocrine FGF‐2 signaling in the 3D construct under the different perfusion flow provides important insight into an optimal bioreactor design. To investigate FGF‐2 signaling inhibition in hMSC cultured in the porous poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) scaffolds perfused under two flow configurations, PD173074, an FGFR1 inhibitor, was added in growth media after 7 day of pre‐culture and its impact on hMSC proliferation and clonogenicity during the subsequent 7 days of cultivation was analyzed. Compared with control constructs in growth media, the addition of PD173074 resulted in significant reduction in hMSC proliferation and colony formation in both constructs with a more dramatic reduction in the parallel flow constructs. The results demonstrate that autocrine FGF‐2 plays a significant role in 3D scaffold and suggest modulation of the perfusion flow in the bioreactor as a strategy to influence autocrine actions and cell fate in the 3D scaffold. © 2012 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 2012     

3-D computational modeling of media flow through scaffolds in a perfusion bioreactor

Media perfusion bioreactor systems have been developed to improve mass transport throughout three-dimensional (3-D) tissue-engineered constructs cultured in vitro. In addition to enhancing the exchange of nutrients and wastes, these systems simultaneously deliver flow-mediated shear stresses to cells seeded within the constructs. Local shear stresses are a function of media flow rate and dynamic viscosity, bioreactor configuration, and porous scaffold microarchitecture. We have used the Lattice-Boltzmann method to simulate the flow conditions within perfused cell-seeded cylindrical scaffolds. Microcomputed tomography imaging was used to define the scaffold microarchitecture for the simulations, which produce a 3-D fluid velocity field throughout the scaffold porosity. Shear stresses were estimated at various media flow rates by multiplying the symmetric part of the gradient of the velocity field by the dynamic viscosity of the cell culture media. The shear stress algorithm was validated by modeling flow between infinite parallel plates and comparing the calculated shear stress distribution to the analytical solution. Relating the simulation results to perfusion experiments, an average surface shear stress of 5x10(-5)Pa was found to correspond to increased cell proliferation, while higher shear stresses were associated with upregulation of bone marker genes. This modeling approach can be used to compare results obtained for different perfusion bioreactor systems or different scaffold microarchitectures and may allow specific shear stresses to be determined that optimize the amount, type, or distribution of in vitro tissue growth.     

Perfusion regulation of hMSC microenvironment and osteogenic differentiation in 3D scaffold

The combination of hMSCs with 3D scaffolds has become an important approach to creating functional bone constructs. Bioreactors are important tools to mitigate mass transfer limitations and to provide controlled physiochemical and biomechanical environments for the 3D bone construct development. Media flow in the bioreactor systems is generally controlled either parallel or transverse with respect to the 3D construct, creating different cellular and biomechanical microenvironments in the 3D constructs. In this study, a custom designed modular perfusion bioreactor system was operated under either the parallel or transverse flow. The influence of the flow patterns on the characteristics of the hMSCs' cellular microenvironment and subsequent construct development was investigated. The parallel flow configuration retained ECM proteins and mitogenic growth factors within the scaffold, effectively preserving hMSC progenicity and proliferation potential (e.g., CFU-F, proliferation, and OCT-4), whereas the transverse flow induced hMSC osteogenic differentiation with higher ALP activity and calcium deposition and up-regulation of osteogenic bone markers (e.g., BMP-2, ALP, RUNX2, OSX, and OC). These results demonstrate the regulatory role of the macroscopic flow on the cellular microenvironment of the 3D hMSC construct, and suggest configuring media flow as a strategy for directing hMSC fate and 3D bone construct development in the perfusion bioreactor.     

Flow cytometric cell cycle analysis of muscle precursor cells cultured within 3D scaffolds in a perfusion bioreactor

It has been widely demonstrated that perfusion bioreactors improve in vitro three‐dimensional (3D) cultures in terms of high cell density and uniformity of cell distribution; however, the studies reported in literature were primarily based on qualitative analysis (histology, immunofluorescent staining) or on quantitative data averaged on the whole population (DNA assay, PCR). Studies on the behavior, in terms of cell cycle, of a cell population growing in 3D scaffolds in static or dynamic conditions are still absent. In this work, a perfusion bioreactor suitable to culture C₂C₁₂ muscle precursor cells within 3D porous collagen scaffolds was designed and developed and a method based on flowcytometric analyses for analyzing the cell cycle in the cell population was established. Cells were extracted by enzymatic digestion of the collagen scaffolds after 4, 7, and 10 days of culture, and flow cytometric live/dead and cell cycle analyses were performed with Propidium Iodide. A live/dead assay was used for validating the method for cell extraction and staining. Moreover, to investigate spatial heterogeneity of the cell population under perfusion conditions, two stacked scaffolds in the 3D domain, of which only the upstream layer was seeded, were analyzed separately. All results were compared with those obtained from static 3D cultures. The live/dead assay revealed the presence of less than 20% of dead cells, which did not affect the cell cycle analysis. Cell cycle analyses highlighted the increment of cell fractions in proliferating phases (S/G₂/M) owing to medium perfusion in long‐term cultures. After 7–10 days, the percentage of proliferating cells was 8–12% for dynamic cultures and 3–5% for the static controls. A higher fraction of proliferating cells was detected in the downstream scaffold. From a general perspective, this method provided data with a small standard deviation and detected the differences between static and dynamic cultures and between upper and lower scaffolds. Our methodology can be extended to other cell types to investigate the influence of 3D culture conditions on the expression of other relevant cell markers. © 2009 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 2009     

Oscillating perfusion of cell suspensions through three-dimensional scaffolds enhances cell seeding efficiency and uniformity

We developed a bioreactor for automated cell seeding of three-dimensional scaffolds by continuous perfusion of a cell suspension through the scaffold pores in oscillating directions. Using quantitative biochemical and image analysis techniques, we then evaluated the efficiency and uniformity of perfusion seeding of Polyactive foams as compared to conventional static and spinner flask methods. Finally, we assessed the efficacy of the perfusion seeding technique for different scaffolds and cell types. Perfusion seeding of chondrocytes into Polyactive foams resulted in "viable cell seeding efficiencies," defined as the percentages of initially loaded cells that were seeded and remained viable, that were significantly higher (75 +/- 6%) than those by static (57% +/- 5%) and spinner flask seeding (55% +/- 8%). In addition, as compared to static and spinner flask methods, cells seeded by perfusion were respectively 2.6-fold and 3.8-fold more uniformly distributed and formed more homogeneously sized cell clusters. Chondrocytes seeded by perfusion into Hyaff-11 nonwoven meshes were 26% and 63%, respectively, more uniformly distributed than following static and spinner flask seeding. Bone marrow stromal cells seeded by perfusion into ChronOS porous ceramics were homogeneously distributed throughout the scaffold volume, while following the static method, cells were found only near the top surface of the ceramic. In summary, we demonstrated that our cell seeding perfusion bioreactor generated constructs with remarkably uniform cell distributions at high efficiencies, and was effective for a variety of scaffolds and different mesenchymal cell types.     

Extruded Bioreactor Perfusion Culture Supports the Chondrogenic Differentiation of Human Mesenchymal Stem/Stromal Cells in 3D Porous Poly(ɛ‐Caprolactone) Scaffolds

Novel bioengineering strategies for the ex vivo fabrication of native‐like tissue‐engineered cartilage are crucial for the translation of these approaches to clinically manage highly prevalent and debilitating joint diseases. Bioreactors that provide different biophysical stimuli have been used in tissue engineering approaches aimed at enhancing the quality of the cartilage tissue generated. However, such systems are often highly complex, expensive, and not very versatile. In the current study, a novel, cost‐effective, and customizable perfusion bioreactor totally fabricated by additive manufacturing (AM) is proposed for the study of the effect of fluid flow on the chondrogenic differentiation of human bone‐marrow mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (hBMSCs) in 3D porous poly(?‐caprolactone) (PCL) scaffolds. hBMSCs are first seeded and grown on PCL scaffolds and hBMSC–PCL constructs are then transferred to 3D‐extruded bioreactors for continuous perfusion culture under chondrogenic inductive conditions. Perfused constructs show similar cell metabolic activity and significantly higher sulfated glycosaminoglycan production (≈1.8‐fold) in comparison to their non‐perfused counterparts. Importantly, perfusion bioreactor culture significantly promoted the expression of chondrogenic marker genes while downregulating hypertrophy. This work highlights the potential of customizable AM platforms for the development of novel personalized repair strategies and more reliable in vitro models with a wide range of applications.     

Design and validation of a dynamic flow perfusion bioreactor for use with compliant tissue engineering scaffolds

In tissue engineering, flow perfusion bioreactors can be used to enhance nutrient diffusion while mechanically stimulating cells to increase matrix production. The goal of this study was to design and validate a dynamic flow perfusion bioreactor for use with compliant scaffolds. Using a non-permanent staining technique, scaffold perfusion was verified for flow rates of 0.1-2.0 mL/min. Flow analysis revealed that steady, pulsatile and oscillatory flow profiles were effectively transferred from the pump to the scaffold. Compared to static culture, bioreactor culture of osteoblast-seeded collagen-GAG scaffolds led to a 27-34% decrease in cell number but stimulated an 800-1200% increase in the production of prostaglandin E(2), an early-stage bone formation marker. This validated flow perfusion bioreactor provides the basis for optimisation of bioreactor culture in tissue engineering applications.