Abstract
Simple SummaryThe main aim of this study was to investigate whether all-glass Lab-on-a-Chip (LOC) platforms can be applied to cancer cell research performed under simulated microgravity. For this purpose, we designed and constructed a 3D-clinostat—a device that allows us to investigate the effect of simulated microgravity (sµg) in biological studies. We used human keratinocytes HaCaT and skin melanoma A375 cells cultured on LOCs as a research model. Preliminary analyses included optimization of LOCs structure and evaluation of their biocompatibility. For both cell lines, we demonstrated that LOCs can be successfully implemented in microgravity research. These results are a good base to conduct further research on the possible application of LOCs systems in cancer research in space, especially for microgravity studies.The dynamic development of the space industry makes space flights more accessible and opens up new opportunities for biological research to better understand cell physiology under real microgravity. Whereas specialized studies in space remain out of our reach, preliminary experiments can be performed on Earth under simulated microgravity (sµg). Based on this concept, we used a 3D-clinostat (3D-C) to analyze the effect of short exposure to sµg on human keratinocytes HaCaT and melanoma cells A375 cultured on all-glass Lab-on-a-Chip (LOC). Our preliminary studies included viability evaluation, mitochondrial and caspase activity, and proliferation assay, enabling us to determine the effect of sµg on human cells. By comparing the results concerning cells cultured on LOCs and standard culture dishes, we were able to confirm the biocompatibility of all-glass LOCs and their potential application in microgravity research on selected human cell lines. Our studies revealed that HaCaT and A375 cells are susceptible to simulated microgravity; however, we observed an increased caspase activity and a decrease of proliferation in cancer cells cultured on LOCs in comparison to standard cell cultures. These results are an excellent basis to conduct further research on the possible application of LOCs systems in cancer research in space.
Highlights
IntroductionThe term “Lab-on-a-Chip” (LOC) is generally understood as an autonomic or semiautonomic experimental platform providing lab-scale research capabilities within miniaturized devices
Only LOC2 and LOC3 were recommended for the described research, and LOC1 was excluded from further experiments; in microgravity studies, we used only LOC3
Approximately 100 cells were assessed. This is the first in vitro study considering the investigation of the effect of simulated microgravity on human keratinocytes and skin melanoma cells cultured on all-glass LOCs
Summary
The term “Lab-on-a-Chip” (LOC) is generally understood as an autonomic or semiautonomic experimental platform providing lab-scale research capabilities within miniaturized devices. With a size fitting within a few square centimeters combined with microfluidic systems capable of handling pico- to microliters of fluid volume, the use of LOCs drastically reduces the volume of samples, consumption of reagents, and time of analysis, lowering research costs. Most LOC devices are disposable, fabricated using polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) replica molding techniques [15,16,17]. These methods are considered fast, relatively simple, with moderate biocompatibility and acceptable transparency of the obtained structures. According to the latest literature reports [18,19,20], some unfavorable influence of this material on biological samples—concerning contamination and/or depletion of cell culturing medium—has been observed, which can be especially critical in the case of long-term, cellular-based experimentation
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