Cells and tissues are intrinsically adapted to molecular gradients and use them to maintain or change their activity. The effect of such gradients is particularly important for cell populations that have an intrinsic capacity to differentiate into multiple cell lineages, such as bone marrow derived mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs). Our results showed that nutrient gradients prompt the spatiotemporal organization of MSCs in 3D culture. Cells adapted to their 3D environment without significant cell death or cell differentiation. Kinetics data and whole-genome gene expression analysis suggest that a low proliferation activity phenotype predominates in stromal cells cultured in 3D, likely due…
Animal experiments help to progress and ensure safety of an increasing number of novel therapies, drug development and chemicals. Unfortunately, these also lead to major ethical concerns, costs and limited experimental capacity. We foresee a coercion of all these issues by implantation of well systems directly into vertebrate animals. Here, we used rapid prototyping to create wells with biomaterials to create a three-dimensional (3D) well-system that can be used in vitro and in vivo. First, the well sizes and numbers were adjusted for 3D cell culture and in vitro screening of molecules. Then, the functionality of the wells was evaluated…