scholarly journals SpheroidPicker for automated 3D cell culture manipulation using deep learning

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Istvan Grexa ◽  
Akos Diosdi ◽  
Maria Harmati ◽  
Andras Kriston ◽  
Nikita Moshkov ◽  
...  

AbstractRecent statistics report that more than 3.7 million new cases of cancer occur in Europe yearly, and the disease accounts for approximately 20% of all deaths. High-throughput screening of cancer cell cultures has dominated the search for novel, effective anticancer therapies in the past decades. Recently, functional assays with patient-derived ex vivo 3D cell culture have gained importance for drug discovery and precision medicine. We recently evaluated the major advancements and needs for the 3D cell culture screening, and concluded that strictly standardized and robust sample preparation is the most desired development. Here we propose an artificial intelligence-guided low-cost 3D cell culture delivery system. It consists of a light microscope, a micromanipulator, a syringe pump, and a controller computer. The system performs morphology-based feature analysis on spheroids and can select uniform sized or shaped spheroids to transfer them between various sample holders. It can select the samples from standard sample holders, including Petri dishes and microwell plates, and then transfer them to a variety of holders up to 384 well plates. The device performs reliable semi- and fully automated spheroid transfer. This results in highly controlled experimental conditions and eliminates non-trivial side effects of sample variability that is a key aspect towards next-generation precision medicine.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Istvan Grexa ◽  
Akos Diosdi ◽  
Andras Kriston ◽  
Nikita Moshkov ◽  
Maria Harmati ◽  
...  

AbstractRecent statistics report that more than 3.7 million new cases of cancer occur in Europe yearly, and the disease accounts for approximately 20 % of all deaths. High-throughput screening of cancer cell cultures has dominated the search for novel, effective anticancer therapies in the past decades. Recently, ex vivo 3D cell cultures from the patient’s own cancer cells have gained importance. We recently evaluated the major advancements and needs of the 3D cell cultures screening field, and we concluded that strictly standardized sample preparation is the most desired development. Here we propose an artificial intelligence-guided low-cost 3D cell culture delivery system. It consists of a light microscope, a micromanipulator, a syringe pump, and a controller computer. The system performs morphology-based feature analysis on spheroids and transfers the most appropriate ones between various sample holders. It can select the samples from standard sample holders, including Petri dishes and microwell plates, and then transfer them to a variety of holders up to 384 well plates. The device performs reliable semi- and fully automated spheroid transfer. This results in highly controlled experimental conditions and eliminates non-trivial side effects of sample variability that is a key aspect towards next-generation precision medicine.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giraso Kabandana ◽  
Adam Michael Ratajczak ◽  
Chengpeng Chen

Microfluidic technology has tremendously facilitated the development of in vitro cell cultures and studies. Conventionally, microfluidic devices are fabricated with extensive facilities by well-trained researchers, which hinders the widespread adoption of the technology for broader applications. Enlightened by the fact that low-cost microbore tubing is a natural microfluidic channel, we developed a series of adaptors in a toolkit that can twine, connect, organize, and configure the tubing to produce functional microfluidic units. Three subsets of the toolkit were thoroughly developed: the tubing and scoring tools, the flow adaptors, and the 3D cell culture suite. To demonstrate the usefulness and versatility of the toolkit, we assembled a microfluidic device and successfully applied it for 3D macrophage cultures, flow-based stimulation, and automated near real-time quantitation with new knowledge generated. Overall, we present a new technology that allows simple, fast, and robust assembly of customizable and scalable microfluidic devices with minimal facilities, which is broadly applicable to research that needs or could be enhanced by microfluidics.


Author(s):  
Beate Gündel ◽  
Xinyuan Liu ◽  
Matthias Löhr ◽  
Rainer Heuchel

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is one of the most overlooked cancers despite its dismal median survival time of 6 months. The biggest challenges in improving patient survival are late diagnosis due to lack of diagnostic markers, and limited treatment options due to almost complete therapy resistance. The past decades of research identified the dense stroma and the complex interplay/crosstalk between the cancer- and the different stromal cells as the main culprits for the slow progress in improving patient outcome. For better ex vivo simulation of this complex tumor microenvironment the models used in PDAC research likewise need to become more diverse. Depending on the focus of the investigation, several in vitro and in vivo models for PDAC have been established in the past years. Particularly, 3D cell culture such as spheroids and organoids have become more frequently used. This review aims to examine current PDAC in vitro models, their inherent limitations, and their successful implementations in research.


2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 379-393 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. I. Neto ◽  
P. A. Levkin ◽  
J. F. Mano

Microarrays are a technological breakthrough for high-throughput screening of large numbers of assays.


2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 234-246
Author(s):  
Charles McRae White ◽  
Mark A. Haidekker ◽  
William S. Kisaalita

New insights into the biomechanical properties of cells are revealing the importance of these properties and how they relate to underlying molecular, architectural, and behavioral changes associated with cell state and disease processes. However, the current understanding of how these in vitro biomechanical properties are associated with in vivo processes has been developed based on the traditional monolayer (two-dimensional [2D]) cell culture, which traditionally has not translated well to the three-dimensional (3D) cell culture and in vivo function. Many gold standard methods and tools used to observe the biomechanical properties of 2D cell cultures cannot be used with 3D cell cultures. Fluorescent molecules can respond to external factors almost instantaneously and require relatively low-cost instrumentation. In this review, we provide the background on fluorescent molecular rotors, which are attractive tools due to the relationship of their emission quantum yield with environmental microviscosity. We make the case for their use in both 2D and 3D cell cultures and speculate on their fundamental and practical applications in cell biology.


2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (Supplement_2) ◽  
pp. ii119-ii120
Author(s):  
Lindsay Lipinski ◽  
Ajay Abad ◽  
Laszlo Mechtler ◽  
Andrew Fabiano ◽  
Ashley Smith ◽  
...  

Abstract Recurrent high-grade glioma is a challenging disease process, without consensus on effective second-line therapy options. Individualized, patient-specific, biologically-based data is desirable in driving therapeutic decision-making. Patients with recurrent high-grade glioma and planned surgical re-resection at our institution were prospectively enrolled into the 3D-PREDICT study. Tissue was collected at the time of surgery for ex vivo 3D cell culture assays comprising a panel of agents commonly used for high-grade glioma, including chemotherapies and targeted therapies used in other solid cancers. In all cases, therapeutic agent selection was guided by the neuro-oncologist’s clinical judgement, factoring the patient’s age, performance status, comorbidities, toxicities/side effect profile of potential agents, and drug accessibility, plus ex-vivo drug response RESULTS: We present 3 cases in which the selection of agents was influenced by the tissue-derived 3D cell culture results; treatment led to clinical response observed in terms of progression free survival, quality of life, and pharmacologic tolerability. In Case 1, a patient with recurrent anaplastic astrocytoma was treated with a BRAF inhibitor for 12 months with excellent tolerability and no radiographic progression. Case 2 demonstrates the use of combination bevacizumab and irinotecan after disease progression subsequent to standard treatment. This patient had local radiographic control for 7 months, tolerating the regimen well. In Case 3, an individual with recurrent glioblastoma was treated with combination carboplatin and etoposide based on assay response prediction to both agents; treatment has been tolerated well with radiographic stability at 6 months while maintaining good performance status. This case series represents our institutional experience of utilizing patient-specific, ex-vivo tissue-derived cell drug response profiling to guide choice of therapy for recurrent high-grade glioma patients. Using individualized, tumor-specific drug sensitivity data to guide these decisions is representative of the ongoing paradigm shift into the realm of individualized medicine to improve outcomes in cancer patients.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Erin A. Henslee ◽  
Carina M. Dunlop ◽  
Christine M. de Mel ◽  
Emily A. Carter ◽  
Rula G. Abdallat ◽  
...  

2007 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 28-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew C. Petersen ◽  
Jozef Lazar ◽  
Howard J. Jacob ◽  
Tetsuro Wakatsuki

Considerable progress has been made in the last decade in the engineering and construction of a number of artificial tissue types. These constructs are typically viewed from the perspective of possible sources for implant and transplant materials in the clinical arena. However, incorporation of engineered tissues, often referred to as three-dimensional (3D) cell culture, also offers the possibility for significant advancements in research for physiological genomics. These 3D systems more readily mimic the in vivo setting than traditional 2D cell culture, and offer distinct advantages over the in vivo setting for some organ systems. As an example, cardiac cells in 3D culture 1) are more accessible for siRNA studies, 2) can be engineered with specific cell types, and 3) offer the potential for high-throughput screening of gene function. Here the state-of-the-art is reviewed and the applications for engineered tissue in genomics research are proposed. The ability to use engineered tissue in combination with genomics creates a bridge between traditional cellular and in vivo studies that is critical to enabling the transition of genetic information into mechanistic understanding of disease processes.


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