活组织的发育及其具备的功能与细胞之间的沟通及互动有很大的关系，两个细胞要在适当的距离或适切的时间才可能产生互动，在一般情况下要诱骗细胞接近但彼此又不碰触，对细胞生物学家来说是一大挑战。由Sangeeta Bhatia教授领导的MIT研究团队，开发了一套微机电系统(microelectromechanical system)装置，不需使用显微设备及机械控制手臂，即可让两个细胞十分地接近或完全的分开，此研究发表于3月27日的PNAS期刊。
此装置包含二片分开的梳子型构造(comb-shaped pieces)，在梳子上面黏附活细胞，在两种不同的设定下，会使装置恰好吻合，其中一种设定会使两种细胞在梳子边缘近距离接近，而另一种设定则可使细胞保持大约80微米的距离(大约是4个细胞宽度)，可以用人手操纵这两种设定以观察两种细胞之间的互动关系。
Bhatia以及Hui教授利用这个装置观察肝细胞(hepatocytes)与支持基质细胞(supportive stroma cells)之间的动态互动关系，结果发现若要维持肝细胞的原形(phenotype)，肝细胞必需与基质细胞近距离接触大约18小时，然后两种细胞分开，大约在325微米的距离时，基质细胞会分泌可溶性讯息小分子到肝细胞表面，驱动肝细胞进行分化。研究人员表示这个平台能观察到各式细胞之间互动的动态情况，也可应用于许多细胞实验的研究，例如：胚胎形成的过程或者疾病形成的过程等等。
(资料来源 : Bio.com)
部分英文原文：
Published online before print March 27, 2007, 10.1073/pnas.0608660104
PNAS | April 3, 2007 | vol. 104 | no. 14 | 5722-5726
From the Cover
PHYSICAL SCIENCES / APPLIED PHYSICAL SCIENCES
Micromechanical control of cell–cell interactions
Elliot E. Hui*, , and Sangeeta N. Bhatia*,, ,
*Department of Bioengineering, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093; Harvard–Massachusetts Institute of Technology Division of Health Sciences and Technology/Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139; and Division of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115
Edited by L. B. Freund, Brown University, Providence, RI, and approved February 9, 2007 (received for review September 29, 2006)
The development and function of living tissues depends largely on interactions between cells that can vary in both time and space; however, temporal control of cell–cell interaction is experimentally challenging. By using a micromachined silicon substrate with moving parts, we demonstrate the dynamic regulation of cell–cell interactions via direct manipulation of adherent cells with micrometer-scale precision. We thereby achieve mechanical control of both tissue composition and spatial organization. As a case study, we demonstrate the utility of this tool in deconstructing the dynamics of intercellular communication between hepatocytes and supportive stromal cells in coculture. Our findings indicate that the maintenance of the hepatocellular phenotype by stroma requires direct contact for a limited time ( hours) followed by a sustained soluble signal that has an effective range of <400 µm. This platform enables investigation of dynamic cell–cell interaction in a multitude of applications, spanning embryogenesis, homeostasis, and pathogenic processes.
dynamic substrate | intercellular communication | microelectromechanical systems | microenvironment | microfabrication
英文全文链接：www.pnas.org/cgi/content/full/104/14/5722
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