Creative Bioarray provides you with patterned cell models and intercellular communication research services that are easy to study intercellular interactions. Our cell patterning technology can become a powerful tool to study the interaction between cells and cell-matrix in the fields of immunology, developmental biology, neuroscience and cancer metastasis.

Why Cell Patterning for Controlling Cell–cell Interactions?

In vivo, the dynamic interactions between various cell types regulate cell function. These interactions are important in the normal physiology of many organ systems, including vascular system (smooth muscle cells and endothelial cells), skeletal muscle (muscle cells and peripheral nerves), liver (hepatocytes and sinusoidal endothelial cells). Traditionally, cell interaction in vitro is studied by randomly culturing a variety of cells on tissue culture matrix; However, it is difficult to control the degree of interaction between homotypic and heterotypic cells by this method. In order to overcome these limitations, patterned co-culture technology has been developed based on the progress of micro-engineering technology, material science and chemistry. Patterned co-culture is a useful tool for manufacturing tissue engineering constructs and studying cell-cell interactions in vitro. This technology can be used to control the degree of homotypic and heterotypic cell-cell contact, and support cells provide signals to maintain these cells in culture. Therefore, this technology can be used to clarify the important factors involved in cell-matrix interaction.

Fig.1 Types and applications of cell–cell interactions and communication. (Armingol E, et al.,2021)

Applications of Cell Patterning for Controlling Cell–cell Interactions

Understanding the mechanisms and processes of intercellular interactions is crucial for many physiological and pathological processes, such as embryogenesis, differentiation, cancer metastasis, immune interaction and diabetes. Creative Bioarray's patterned co-culture technology can control the level of homotypic interaction in single cell type culture and the degree of heterotypic contact in co-culture, so it has great potential in controlling the interaction between cell-cell, cell and intercellular matrix, cell and microenvironment. It will make it possible to study and characterize the phenomena that cannot be obtained by traditional in vitro methods. Understanding the communication between cells is helpful to develop biomimetic structures for tissue engineering. In addition, our technology can become a powerful tool for studying cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions in the fields of immunology, developmental biology, neuroscience and cancer metastasis.

What Can We Do?

Our patterning methods for controlling cell-cell interaction mainly include selective adhesion of cells to micropatterned substrate, microfluidic patterning for co-cultures and stencil-based patterning. Based on the above methods, we can provide you with patterned co-cultures services of different cell types.

Specifically, we can control the level of homotypic interactions in single cell type culture and the degree of heterotypic contact in co-culture in a wide range. Our technology also has the ability to spatially control cell layout at the single cell level, supporting precise manipulation of cell-cell interactions. Our cell patterning technology can manipulate the initial cell microenvironment without changing the number of cells, and can perform many important tasks in the study of intercellular communication. These tasks include

• Control of intercellular distance
• Engineering of homotypic or heterotypic cell assembly
• Monitoring of small molecule exchange between suspended cells
• Transformation of cell aggregates from suspended state to adhesive state
• Subsequent study of assembly and communication in adherent cells

To sum up, we can make your own cell pattern based on cell patterning technology, or provide the above intercellular communication research services.

Why Choose Us?

• Achieve high precision and high throughput while maintaining cell integrity
• Suitable for co-culture of multiple cell types
• Scientific and reasonable scheme design
• Rich experience in cell patterning projects
• High quality and fast service

Creative Bioarray provides customers with cell patterning customization and related detection services based on Cell Patterning, you can contact our employees directly to ask questions if you are interested in our services, please contact us for more details.

Reference:

1. Armingol, E.; et al. Deciphering cell–cell interactions and communication from gene expression. Nat Rev Genet.2021, 22(2): 71–88.