Analysis of intercellular communication by flexible hydrodynamic gating on a microfluidic chip

作者：Chen Peng; Chen Pu; Feng Xiaojun; Du Wei; Liu Bi Feng^*

来源：Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry, 2013, 405(1): 307-314.

DOI：10.1007/s00216-012-6447-z

• Microfluidic chip
• Hydrodynamic gating
• Intercellular communication
• Ca2+ waves

Intercellular Ca2+ waves are propagation of Ca2+ transients among cells that could be initiated by chemical stimulation. Current methods for analyzing intercellular Ca2+ waves are difficult to realize localized chemical stimulations upon the target cell without interfering with adjacent contacting cells. In this paper, a simple and flexible microfluidic method was developed for investigating the intercellular communication of Ca2+ signals. A cross-patterned microfluidic chip was designed and fabricated with polydimethylsiloxane as the structural material. Localized chemical stimulation was achieved by a new strategy based on hydrodynamic gating technique. Clusters of target cells were seeded at the location within 300 mu m downstream of the intersection of the cross-shaped microchannel. Confined lateral molecular diffusion largely minimized the interference from diffusion-induced stimulation of adjacent cells. Localized stimulation of the target cell with adenosine 5'-triphosphate successfully induced the propagation of intercellular Ca2+ waves among a population of adjacent contacting cells. Further inhibition studies verified that the propagation of calcium signals among NIH-3 T3 cells was dependent on direct cytosolic transfer via gap junctions. The developed microfluidic method provides a versatile platform for investigating the dynamics of intercellular communications.

• 出版日期2013-1
• 单位华中科技大学