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Authors & Affiliations
Marcio da Luz, Gabriela da Silva, Lucimara de La Torre, Marimélia Porcionatto
Abstract
The dysfunction or disruption of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) has been associated with the development and progression of many neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). However, most in vitro BBB models are static, complicating the understanding of disease pathophysiology. With that, our study aims to develop a microfluidic device to better study the relationship between neurodegenerative diseases and the BBB in vitro. The device, printed using polydimethylsiloxane, includes a compartment for a hydrogel containing neurons and astrocytes to mimic cerebral parenchyma and a microvessel layered endothelial cells, allowing liquid circulation using a peristaltic pump. To generate endothelial cells, astrocytes, and neurons, we differentiated human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSC). For standardization purposes, we used SH-SY5Y and HUVEC. We tested the biocompatibility of various hydrogel compositions and we found that a combination of gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA) and Geltrex™ is the best to support cell survival and to acquire the expected morphologies along the days. Additionally, we found that a density of 1x107 HUVEC cells per mL is insufficient to cover the walls of the microvessel completely, but a previous 2-hour coating using 60µg per mL fibronectin was beneficial for cell attachment. Further experiments must be conducted to determine the best concentration of GelMA to be used in the hydrogel composition. The coating of the microvessel is a required step for endothelial cell adhesion, and higher cell density is necessary to form a prominent and juxtaposed monolayer.