Abstract 877: Real-time imaging of adherent and non-adherent cell interactions: utility of an automated microfluidic trap platform to recapitulate in vivo cell culture microenvironment

Abstract

Abstract The study of dynamic cell processes and their interactions is of crucial importance to understand the complexities of tissue microenvironments. Simulation of in vivo cell culture microenvironments can greatly improve biologic relevance of cell-cell interaction studies, and so there is an ongoing demand for heuristic optimization of cell co-culture devices and protocols. One particularly challenging task is establishing real-time image analysis while co-culturing non-adherent cells in contact with adherent cell layers under precisely controlled environmental parameters. To address this challenge, we present a novel microfluidic approach to trap two different cell types in precise locations in order to image and study their interactions over time. The platform utilizes a well plate format that contains multiple microfluidic units. Each unit consists of a 3 mm x 3 mm x 40 µm (L x W x H) chamber for culture, and an array of microscopic trap areas tailored to the dimensions of the cells of interest, typically ~15 µm. The micro-scale geometries of the traps physically confine non-adherent cells, and co-cultures can be achieved by trapping the non-adherent cells over a monolayer of cells. The microfluidic plate is integrated with a system which enables perfusion-based nutrient supply along with gas and temperature control for long-term cell culture. Each chamber within the plate can be addressed by programmable and on-demand perturbation of up to 6 reagents, enabling uninterrupted real-time live cell imaging assays. We present here the use of this microfluidic platform to replicate tumor microenvironment by maintaining adjacent co-cultures of cancer and immune cells. We have successfully imaged and cultured monolayers of tumor cell lines for 7 days followed by subsequent loading and trapping of immune (non-adherent) cells. In conclusion, the microfluidic platform enables unique co-cultures with environmental control and real-time imaging to facilitate the investigation of cell-cell interactions in a wide range of applications such as drug response and screening in tumor microenvironments, invasion, evasion pathways and other mechanisms governing cell-cell interactions. Citation Format: Rekha Kannan, Victor Yeh, James Helton, Amedeo Cappione. Real-time imaging of adherent and non-adherent cell interactions: utility of an automated microfluidic trap platform to recapitulate in vivo cell culture microenvironment [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2017; 2017 Apr 1-5; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 877. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-877