Alveolar mimics with periodic strain and its effect on the cell layer formation |
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Authors: | Milad Radiom Yong He Juan Peng-Wang Armelle Baeza-Squiban Jean-François Berret Yong Chen |
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Affiliation: | 1. Laboratoire Matière et Systèmes Complexes, CNRS UMR 7057, Université Paris Diderot Paris-VII, Paris, France;2. Département de Chimie, Sorbonne Universités–UPMC Univ Paris 06, CNRS UMR 8640, Pasteur, École Normale Supérieure–PSL Research University, Paris, France;3. Unité de Biologie Fonctionnelle et Adaptative, CNRS UMR 8251, Université Paris Diderot Paris-VII, Paris, France |
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Abstract: | We report on the development of a new model of alveolar air–tissue interface on a chip. The model consists of an array of suspended hexagonal monolayers of gelatin nanofibers supported by microframes and a microfluidic device for the patch integration. The suspended monolayers are deformed to a central displacement of 40–80 µm at the air–liquid interface by application of air pressure in the range of 200–1,000 Pa. With respect to the diameter of the monolayers, that is, 500 µm, this displacement corresponds to a linear strain of 2–10% in agreement with the physiological strain range in the lung alveoli. The culture of A549 cells on the monolayers for an incubation time of 1–3 days showed viability in the model. We exerted a periodic strain of 5% at a frequency of 0.2 Hz for 1 hr to the cells. We found that the cells were strongly coupled to the nanofibers, but the strain reduced the coupling and induced remodeling of the actin cytoskeleton, which led to a better tissue formation. Our model can serve as a versatile tool in lung investigations such as in inhalation toxicology and therapy. |
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Keywords: | alveolar air–tissue interface alveolus mimic gelatin nanofibers lung-on-a-chip physiological strain |
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