Cell culture is an indispensible tool in many fields including cell biology, immunology, microbiology, cancer and infectious disease research. However, conventional two-dimensional culture, which involves growing cells as monolayers on solid, impermeable surfaces, may lead to the loss of key phenotypic and functional cell characteristics, and often does not predict in vivo tissue responses.

Researchers at the Biodesign Institute of Arizona State University have developed a novel method to produce three-dimensional, physiologically relevant immune tissue systems. The low sedimental fluid shear environment produced in a rotating wall vessel (RWV) bioreactor enables construction of 3-D tissue systems that display both structural and functional characteristics similar to in vivo human tissues, including immunocompetency.

This technology bridges the gap between the inherent limitations of conventional cell culture and animal models to better predict in vivo human responses to pathogens, toxins, drugs, vaccines, etc. Such 3-D co-culture immunocompetent models provide unique insight that other in vitro models cannot.

Potential Applications

• Greatly improved predictive capability of tissue culture models to mimic human and patient-specific responses
• Replacement of some animal and human clinical testing
• Personalized medicine
• Better prediction of in vivo human responses to pathogens, toxins, drugs and other therapeutics, vaccines and adjuvants, chemotherapeutic agents, cosmetics and other chemicals
• Identification of risk biosignatures for transition from normal homeostasis to disease

Benefits and Advantages

• Provides more accurate analog of human response than other cell culture techniques.
• Immunocompetency and 3-D structure of tissue bridges the gap between conventional in vitro cell culture and in vivo models

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