Testing Lab-on-a-Chip Technology for Culturing Human Melanoma Cells under Simulated Microgravity

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.

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Microgravity Induces Transient EMT in Human Keratinocytes by Early Down-Regulation of E-Cadherin and Cell-Adhesion Remodeling

Applied Sciences ◽

10.3390/app11010110 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

pp. 110

Author(s):

Giulia Ricci ◽

Alessandra Cucina ◽

Sara Proietti ◽

Simona Dinicola ◽

Francesca Ferranti ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cell Adhesion ◽

Human Keratinocytes ◽

Short Exposure ◽

Migration And Invasion ◽

Hacat Cells ◽

Invasive Phenotype ◽

Adhesion Properties ◽

Mesenchymal Transition ◽

Cell Matrix ◽

E Cadherin

Changes in cell–matrix and cell-to-cell adhesion patterns are dramatically fostered by the microgravity exposure of living cells. The modification of adhesion properties could promote the emergence of a migrating and invasive phenotype. We previously demonstrated that short exposure to the simulated microgravity of human keratinocytes (HaCaT) promotes an early epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT). Herein, we developed this investigation to verify if the cells maintain the acquired invasive phenotype after an extended period of weightlessness exposure. We also evaluated cells’ capability in recovering epithelial characteristics when seeded again into a normal gravitational field after short microgravity exposure. We evaluated the ultra-structural junctional features of HaCaT cells by Transmission Electron Microscopy and the distribution pattern of vinculin and E-cadherin by confocal microscopy, observing a rearrangement in cell–cell and cell–matrix interactions. These results are mirrored by data provided by migration and invasion biological assay. Overall, our studies demonstrate that after extended periods of microgravity, HaCaT cells recover an epithelial phenotype by re-establishing E-cadherin-based junctions and cytoskeleton remodeling, both being instrumental in promoting a mesenchymal–epithelial transition (MET). Those findings suggest that cytoskeletal changes noticed during the first weightlessness period have a transitory character, given that they are later reversed and followed by adaptive modifications through which cells miss the acquired mesenchymal phenotype.

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Differences in cytotoxicity induced by cold atmospheric plasma and exogenous RONS solutions on human keratinocytes and melanoma cells

IEEE Transactions on Radiation and Plasma Medical Sciences ◽

10.1109/trpms.2020.3043540 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 1-1

Author(s):

Mingyu Ma ◽

He Cheng ◽

Fusheng Sun ◽

Xinpei Lu ◽

Guangyuan He ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Human Keratinocytes ◽

Melanoma Cells ◽

Atmospheric Plasma ◽

Cold Atmospheric Plasma

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Millifluidic Lab-on-a-Chip technology for automated toxicity tests using the marine amphipod Allorchestes compressa

Sensors and Actuators B Chemical ◽

10.1016/j.snb.2016.08.058 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 239 ◽

pp. 660-670 ◽

Cited By ~ 19

Author(s):

Rhys Cartlidge ◽

Dayanthi Nugegoda ◽

Donald Wlodkowic

Keyword(s):

Lab On A Chip ◽

Toxicity Tests ◽

Chip Technology ◽

Marine Amphipod

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Lab-on-a-chip technology and microfluidics

Microfluidics for Pharmaceutical Applications ◽

10.1016/b978-0-12-812659-2.00001-6 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 3-36 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Antonio Francesko ◽

Vanessa F. Cardoso ◽

Senentxu Lanceros-Méndez

Keyword(s):

Lab On A Chip ◽

Chip Technology

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Comparison of SDS gel capillary electrophoresis with microfluidic lab-on-a-chip technology to quantify relative amounts of 7S and 11S proteins from 20 soybean cultivars

International Journal of Food Science & Technology ◽

10.1111/j.1365-2621.2009.02049.x ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 44 (11) ◽

pp. 2127-2134 ◽

Cited By ~ 21

Author(s):

Vladimir Blazek ◽

Robert A. Caldwell

Keyword(s):

Capillary Electrophoresis ◽

Lab On A Chip ◽

Soybean Cultivars ◽

Chip Technology

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Activation of human keratinocyte migration on type I collagen and fibronectin

Journal of Cell Science ◽

10.1242/jcs.96.2.197 ◽

1990 ◽

Vol 96 (2) ◽

pp. 197-205

Author(s):

M. Guo ◽

K. Toda ◽

F. Grinnell

Keyword(s):

Type I Collagen ◽

Cultured Cells ◽

Focal Adhesions ◽

Human Keratinocytes ◽

Type I ◽

Integrin Subunit ◽

Basal Cells ◽

Keratinocyte Migration ◽

Beta 1 Integrin ◽

Cells Cultured

The purpose of our studies was to learn more about the regulation of keratinocyte migration. Human keratinocytes freshly harvested from skin were relatively immotile cells, whereas keratinocytes harvested from cell culture migrated on type I collagen or fibronectin as measured in a phagokinesis assay. Development of migratory competence by keratinocytes varied depending on the culture substratum. Cells cultured on plastic were activated more quickly and to a greater extent than cells cultured on dermis. The effect of the culture substratum on migratory competence was reversible. That is, cells cultured on plastic showed reduced activity after subculture on dermis. Cells cultured on dermis showed increased activity after subculture on plastic. Freshly isolated as well as cultured keratinocytes contained beta 1 integrin subunits, but only cultured cells were able to organize the subunits into focal adhesions. These adhesion sites also contained vinculin. In epidermal explants, beta 1 integrin subunits were mostly in basal cells, often more prominent between lateral cell borders than at the epidermal-dermal interface. In keratinocytes that migrated out of skin explants, there appeared to be an increase in the intensity of beta 1 integrin subunit immunostaining, possibly because of the change in shape of migrating cells. Also, beta 1 integrin subunits were found around and beneath migrating keratinocytes. These results show that changes in the distribution of beta 1 integrin subunits accompany development of migratory competence.

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lab‐on‐a‐chip technology

Catalysis from A to Z ◽

10.1002/9783527809080.cataz09585 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

D. Belder

Keyword(s):

Lab On A Chip ◽

Chip Technology

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A Keyword-Based Literature Review Data Generating Algorithm—Analyzing a Field from Scientific Publications

Symmetry ◽

10.3390/sym12060903 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (6) ◽

pp. 903

Author(s):

Junchao Wang ◽

Guodong Su ◽

Chengrui Wan ◽

Xiwei Huang ◽

Lingling Sun

Keyword(s):

Lab On A Chip ◽

Future Trend ◽

Research Field ◽

Levenshtein Distance ◽

Scientific Publications ◽

Scientific Review ◽

The Past ◽

Communication Engineering ◽

Chip Technology ◽

Meta Information

A scientific review is a type of article that summarizes the current state of a specific field, which is crucial for promoting the advancement of our science community. Authors need to read hundreds of research articles to prepare the data and insights for a comprehensive review, which is time-consuming and labor-intensive. In this work, we present an algorithm that can automatically extract keywords from the meta-information of each article and generate the basic data for review articles. Two different fields—communication engineering, and lab on a chip technology—were analyzed as examples. We first built an article library by downloading all the articles from the target journal using a python-based crawler. Second, the rapid automatic keyword extraction algorithm was implemented on the title and abstract of each article. Finally, we classified all extracted keywords into class by calculating the Levenshtein distance between each of them. The results demonstrated its capability of not only finding out how communication engineering and lab on a chip were evolved in the past decades but also summarizing the analytical outcomes after data mining of the extracted keywords. Our algorithm is more than a useful tool for researchers during the preparation of a review article, it can also be applied to quantitatively analyze the past, present and help authors predict the future trend of a specific research field.

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