Engineered cell culture substrates for axon guidance studies: moving beyond proof of concept

Abstract

Promoting axon regeneration following injury is one of the ultimate challenges of neuroscience, and understanding the mechanisms that regulate axon growth and guidance is essential to achieve this goal. During development axons are directed over relatively long distances by a precise extracellular distribution of chemical signals in the embryonic nervous system. Multiple guidance proteins, including netrins, slits, semaphorins, ephrins and neurotrophins have been identified as key players in this process. During the last decade, engineered cell culture substrates have been developed to investigate the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying axon guidance. This review is focused on the biological insights that have been achieved using new techniques that attempt to mimic in vitro the spatial patterns of proteins that growth cones encounter in vivo.

Measuring Physical Properties of Neuronal and Glial Cells with Resonant Microsensors

“…For over a century, numerous culture devices and methods have provided ideal microenvironments to glean insights into neuronal development. 11−13 MEMS sensor arrays 6,14,15 potentially provide a unique advantage for measuring the growth of neurons, if neurons can be isolated from the heterogeneous population. Neurochemical and cell signaling studies utilize neuronal growth measures in vitro to measure the duration of the polarization process, axonal elongation rates, and filopodial dynamics (space, time, and direction).…”

Development of Nanotoxicology: Implications for Drug Delivery and Medical Devices

“…They offer more flexibility compared with 2D conventional counterparts, in addition to a low contamination risk. Organ-on-a-chip devices are being used extensively for in vitro studies investigating chemotaxis, stem cell differentiation, axon guidance and embryonic development [105][106][107][108]. They offer the advantages of multiplexing with capability of highthroughput screening (HTS) and hence, are being used in the development of biosensors, point-of-care diagnostics, and 'omics' studies.…”

A Haptotaxis Assay for Neutrophils using Optical Patterning and a High-content Approach

“…It is also in the recent years that microfluidics-based migration assays were developed, allowing good gradient control 25, 26 , but being experimentally complex. Assays utilizing surface-bound guiding cues have traditionally been aimed at probing axonal guidance 27, 28 , but recent attempts have been made to apply these assays to investigate leukocyte migration 29–34 . For instance, Rink et al .…”