Abstract

Cell Fiber Technology for Cell Therapy

Shoji Takeuchi, Professor and Director, The University of Tokyo

The cell fiber was produced in a double coaxial laminar flow microfluidic device. The core stream of cells suspended in ECM sol and the shell stream of sodium alginate sol form a core-shell laminar co-flow in the device; the flow of Na-alginate sol becomes a gel at the point where it merges with the sheath stream of calcium chloride solution.  As a result, a Ca-alginate shell with the cells and ECM sol in the core can be continuously generated on a meter-length scale.  The three-dimensionally cultured cells in the fiber show excellent intrinsic functions. When with myocytes, endothelial, and nerve cells, they showed the contractile motion of the myocyte cell fiber, the tube formation of the endothelial cell fibers and the synaptic connections of the nerve cell fiber, respectively.  By using microfluidic handling, higher-order assembly of fiber-shaped 3D cellular constructs can be performed; in particular, mechanical weaving of cell fibers with our lab-made microfluidic weaving machine provides a woven "cell fabric" composed of three different cell fibers. As the practical application, the fiber encapsulating beta-cells is used for the implantation of diabetic mice, and succeeded in normalizing the blood glucose level.