No abstract

No abstract

Developing effective stem cell based therapies requires the design of complex in vitro culture systems for more accurate representation of the stem cell niche. Attempts to improve conventional cell culture platforms include the use of biomaterial coated culture plates, sphere culture, microfluidic systems and bioreactors. Most of these platforms are not cost-effective, require industrial technical expertise to fabricate, and remain too simplistic compared to the physiological cell niche. The human amniotic membrane (hAM) has been used successfully in clinical grafting applications due to its unique biological composition and regenerative properties. In this study, we present a combinatorial platform that integrates the hAM with biomolecular, topographic and mechanical cues in one versatile model.MethodsWe utilized the hAM to provide the biological and the three dimensional (3D) topographic components of the prototype. The 3D nano-roughness of the hAM was characterized using surface electron microscopy and surface image analysis (ImageJ and SurfaceJ). We developed additional macro-scale and micro-scale versions of the platform which provided additional shear stress factors to simulate the fluid dynamics of the in vivo extracellular fluids.ResultsThree models of varying complexities of the prototype were assembled. A well-defined 3D surface modulation of the hAM in comparable to commercial 3D biomaterial culture substrates was achieved without complex fabrication and with significantly lower cost. Performance of the prototype was demonstrated through culture of primary human umbilical cord mononuclear blood cells (MNCs), human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell line (hBMSC), and human breast cancer tissue.ConclusionThis study presents methods of assembling an integrated, flexible and low cost biomimetic cell culture platform for diverse cell culture applications.

The aim of the experiment was to study the influence of lighting programmes on compensatory growth and carcass criteria of broiler chickens. A total number of 120 (one hundred twenty) Ross broiler chicks, one day old were equally divided into 3 treatments of 40 chicks each and further divided into 4 replicates (10 chicks/ replicate). The experimental lighting regime treatments were as follows: continuous, light stimulation and intermittent lighting. The results showed that the birds exposed to T1, and C achieved the highest BW and BWG compared to birds exposed to intermittent lighting. During the period from (0-6) wks of age, birds in groups (C) and (T1) achieved an increase in BWG and improved FCR than the group in (T2). In conclusion results suggested the application of a light stimulation better performance minimizing electricity costs.