Development-on-chip: in vitro neural tube patterning with a microfluidic device.

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

6-1-2016

JAX Source

Development 2016 Jun 1; 143(11):1884-92.

Volume

143

Issue

11

First Page

1884

Last Page

1892

ISSN

1477-9129

PMID

27246712

Grant

IOS - 1145949

Abstract

Embryogenesis is a highly regulated process in which the precise spatial and temporal release of soluble cues directs differentiation of multipotent stem cells into discrete populations of specialized adult cell types. In the spinal cord, neural progenitor cells are directed to differentiate into adult neurons through the action of mediators released from nearby organizing centers, such as the floor plate and paraxial mesoderm. These signals combine to create spatiotemporal diffusional landscapes that precisely regulate the development of the central nervous system (CNS). Currently, in vivo and ex vivo studies of these signaling factors present some inherent ambiguity. In vitro methods are preferred for their enhanced experimental clarity but often lack the technical sophistication required for biological realism. In this article, we present a versatile microfluidic platform capable of mimicking the spatial and temporal chemical environments found in vivo during neural tube development. Simultaneous opposing and/or orthogonal gradients of developmental morphogens can be maintained, resulting in neural tube patterning analogous to that observed in vivo. Development 2016 Jun 1; 143(11):1884-92.

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