Twenty two methionine-containing di- to octa-peptides were evaluated for their ability to serve as methionine sources to support protein accretion and cell proliferation in C₂C₁₂ myogenic, MAC-T mammary epithelial and ovine myogenic satellite cells. Factors in serum that may be involved in regulating peptide utilization was investigated using MAC-T cells. Growth of MAC-T cells was studied in the presence of methionine-containing dipeptides with 6% desalted adult animal serum from chickens, horses, humans, pigs or rabbits. Serumal peptidase activities on the twenty two methionine-containing peptides were examined in cell-free, methionine-free Dulbecco’s modified Eagle’s medium supplemented with 6% fetal bovine serum. The cell cultures were incubated for 72 h at 37°C in a humidified environment of 90% air : 10% CO₂ for C₂C₁₂ and ovine satellite cells or 95% air : 5% CO₂ for MAC-T cells. The basal medium contained methionine-free Dulbecco’s modified Eagle’s medium supplemented with 6% desalted animal serum or one of the following serumal factors: .4% bovine serum lipids, 1% chemically defined lipid concentrate, bovine insulin (1 ug/mL), or 3% low protein serum replacement (LPSR-1). Treatment media tested included basal medium or basal media supplemented with L-methionine or one of the methionine-containing peptides. Cell cultures incubated with the basal media for 72 h were characterized by decreased cell number and decreased protein content compared with initial cultures. All the methionine-containing peptides (with the exception of glycylmethionine and prolylmethionine for C₂C₁₂ cells), regardles of chain length, were able to support protein accretion with responses ranging from 29 to 123% of that of free L-methionine. The DNA contents of ovine satellite cell cultures indicated that cell proliferation occurred in the presence of all the methionine-containing peptides with responses ranging from 45 to 144% of the L-methionine response. Bovine insulin and lipids were not effective in promoting peptide utilization by MAC-T cells. However, the LPSR-1 facilitated the utilization of methionine-containing peptides in C₂C₁₂ and MAC-T cells. In the cell-free, methionine-free Dulbecco’s modified Eagle’s medium, peptidases could release all the methionine residues from the tetra- to octapeptides during 24 h of incubation and 42 to 70% of the methionine residues from the di- and tripeptides tested. The results demonstrated that cultured animal cells possess the ability to utilize methionine-containing peptides as methionine sources for protein accretion and cell proliferation, but serumal peptidases are at least partially responsible for the observed responses. / Ph. D.

Irreversible electroporation (IRE) is a non-thermal ablation technique that allows for eradication of unresectable tumors in a minimally invasive procedure. While IRE will preferentially kill larger cells over smaller ones, it does not discriminate between cells with larger and small nuclei. Given that one of the hallmarks of cancer cell morphology is larger, more abundant nuclei, our team set out to explore the possibility of preferentially targeting this physical and geometrical characteristic. / Master of Science

The blood-brain barrier (BBB) is composed of brain microvascular endothelial cells (BMECs), pericytes, and astrocytic endfeet, which regulate the transport of molecules into and out of the brain. BMECs possess intrinsic barrier properties that limit the passage of approximately 98% of small molecules into the brain in healthy individuals. However, in some brain diseases, the BBB undergoes structural and functional alterations, which can contribute to disease progression. In this study, we aimed to investigate the BBB by exploring the effects of endothelial cell stretching and the optimal dimensionality of stretching to enhance endothelium barrier tightness in Chapter 2. Subsequently, we developed an endothelium gradient stretching device to further examine the stretching effect in Chapter 3. Additionally, we investigated the promotion of endothelium tightness through the use of electrospun fibers, wherein we controlled the pore size. Based on these findings, we designed and fabricated an organ chip model that incorporates mechanical stretching, microfluidic techniques, electrospun fibers, and hydrogel extracellular matrix (ECM). The results of permeability testing demonstrated that this chip significantly improved the tightness of microvascular selective transport ability and has the potential to be used in drug sorting for central nervous system (CNS) diseases.

Human norovirus (NoV) causes gastroenteritis worldwide and has been associated with a number of produce related outbreaks. The design of effective inactivation and prevention procedures requires an understanding of virus survival in environments applicable to the production and processing of fresh produce. To evaluate the extent of NoV risk from farm to fork, the survival of murine norovirus (MNV), a surrogate for human NoV, was studied on stainless steel disks, soil and in bottled water for 42 days and on lettuce for 15 days in the laboratory. Stability experiments were then conducted on farm during one lettuce planting/harvest cycle, for 4 weeks. MNV stability was tested at room temperature in the laboratory or under ambient conditions on the farm. A one log reduction in virus titre was achieved after 30 days in water, 4 days on lettuce, 15 days on stainless steel disks, 12 days on loamy and sandy soil. For farm testing, infectious virus was recovered from both soil and lettuce on the day of inoculation. Although infectious virus was not recovered at later time points, the viral genomes were detected for up to four weeks. The observed long-term persistence of NoV, under both laboratory and field conditions, provides valuable information for developing risk assessments and control procedures to limit the possibility for NoV transmission in the food supply.

Human norovirus (NoV) causes gastroenteritis worldwide and has been associated with a number of produce related outbreaks. The design of effective inactivation and prevention procedures requires an understanding of virus survival in environments applicable to the production and processing of fresh produce. To evaluate the extent of NoV risk from farm to fork, the survival of murine norovirus (MNV), a surrogate for human NoV, was studied on stainless steel disks, soil and in bottled water for 42 days and on lettuce for 15 days in the laboratory. Stability experiments were then conducted on farm during one lettuce planting/harvest cycle, for 4 weeks. MNV stability was tested at room temperature in the laboratory or under ambient conditions on the farm. A one log reduction in virus titre was achieved after 30 days in water, 4 days on lettuce, 15 days on stainless steel disks, 12 days on loamy and sandy soil. For farm testing, infectious virus was recovered from both soil and lettuce on the day of inoculation. Although infectious virus was not recovered at later time points, the viral genomes were detected for up to four weeks. The observed long-term persistence of NoV, under both laboratory and field conditions, provides valuable information for developing risk assessments and control procedures to limit the possibility for NoV transmission in the food supply.

Human norovirus (NoV) causes gastroenteritis worldwide and has been associated with a number of produce related outbreaks. The design of effective inactivation and prevention procedures requires an understanding of virus survival in environments applicable to the production and processing of fresh produce. To evaluate the extent of NoV risk from farm to fork, the survival of murine norovirus (MNV), a surrogate for human NoV, was studied on stainless steel disks, soil and in bottled water for 42 days and on lettuce for 15 days in the laboratory. Stability experiments were then conducted on farm during one lettuce planting/harvest cycle, for 4 weeks. MNV stability was tested at room temperature in the laboratory or under ambient conditions on the farm. A one log reduction in virus titre was achieved after 30 days in water, 4 days on lettuce, 15 days on stainless steel disks, 12 days on loamy and sandy soil. For farm testing, infectious virus was recovered from both soil and lettuce on the day of inoculation. Although infectious virus was not recovered at later time points, the viral genomes were detected for up to four weeks. The observed long-term persistence of NoV, under both laboratory and field conditions, provides valuable information for developing risk assessments and control procedures to limit the possibility for NoV transmission in the food supply.

Human norovirus (NoV) causes gastroenteritis worldwide and has been associated with a number of produce related outbreaks. The design of effective inactivation and prevention procedures requires an understanding of virus survival in environments applicable to the production and processing of fresh produce. To evaluate the extent of NoV risk from farm to fork, the survival of murine norovirus (MNV), a surrogate for human NoV, was studied on stainless steel disks, soil and in bottled water for 42 days and on lettuce for 15 days in the laboratory. Stability experiments were then conducted on farm during one lettuce planting/harvest cycle, for 4 weeks. MNV stability was tested at room temperature in the laboratory or under ambient conditions on the farm. A one log reduction in virus titre was achieved after 30 days in water, 4 days on lettuce, 15 days on stainless steel disks, 12 days on loamy and sandy soil. For farm testing, infectious virus was recovered from both soil and lettuce on the day of inoculation. Although infectious virus was not recovered at later time points, the viral genomes were detected for up to four weeks. The observed long-term persistence of NoV, under both laboratory and field conditions, provides valuable information for developing risk assessments and control procedures to limit the possibility for NoV transmission in the food supply.

This thesis describes the development of an optimized method for culturing dissociated, monolayer neuronal networks from murine frontal cortex and midbrain. It is presented as a guidebook for use by cell culture specialists and laboratory personnel who require updated and complete procedures for use with microelectrode array (MEA) recording technology. Specific cell culture protocols, contamination prevention and control, as well common problems encountered within the cell culture facility, are discussed. This volume offers value and utility to the rapidly expanding fields of MEA recording and neuronal cell culture. Due to increasing interest in determining the mechanisms underlying Parkinson's disease, the newly developed procedures for mesencephalon isolation and culture on MEAs are an important research contribution.

Natural Killer (NK) cells can recognize and lyse a large variety of tumor cells and have been of interest as a potential cancer treatment option. Our group has developed a particle-based NK cell expansion method that utilizes plasma membrane particles (PM-particles) derived from K562 cells genetically engineered to express membrane bound IL21 and 41BBL(K562-mbIL21-41BBL), two proteins that stimulate growth and activity of NK cells. This method selectively expands highly cytotoxic NK cells > 400-fold in 14 days of culture. Currently NK cells are expanded in vitro using Fetal Bovine Serum (FBS) as a serum-supplement to promote cell growth. While effective, the use of animal products is not preferred in cell cultures grown for clinical purposes. This project tested Human Platelet Lysates (HPL) as a potential replacement for FBS in NK cell culture. NK cells were expanded using PM21-particle based expansion method with either FBS or HPL as supplements. Their growth characteristics, phenotype and functionality were assessed and compared. Results of this study determined that HPL is a viable option to replace FBS in NK cell culture for clinical applications, as there was no significant difference between the two serum supplements.

Submitted by Priscila Nascimento (pnascimento@icict.fiocruz.br) on 2012-11-19T11:45:26Z No. of bitstreams: 1 aline-stelling-zanatta.pdf: 2385669 bytes, checksum: 6f759289878ca2d698465044b392ae3f (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2012-11-19T11:45:26Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 aline-stelling-zanatta.pdf: 2385669 bytes, checksum: 6f759289878ca2d698465044b392ae3f (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009 / Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto de Tecnologia em Imunobiológicos. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil / Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil. / Desde o trabalho de Köhler e Milstein (1975), hibridomas tem sido cultivados para obtenção de anticorpos monoclonais com finalidade de uso em pesquisa, diagnóstico e terapia. O método tradicional de obtenção de anticorpos monoclonais em altas concentrações é através de indução de ascite em camundongos. Estatécnica vem sendo substituída por cultivos de hibridomas em altas concentrações celulares. Neste trabalho, foram cultivados hibridomas secretores de anticorpos monoclonais anti-dengue tipo 2 em frascos T, garrafas rotatórias (roller) e frascos do tipo spinner, utilizando-se o meio DMEM, suplementado com soro fetal bovino a 10%, e o meio comercial livre de soro animal Ex-Cell® TiterHigh TM (Sigma). Ao longo dos diferentes cultivos, foram avaliadas a concentração celular, viabilidade celular e as concentrações de nutrientes (glicose eglutamina), metabólitos (lactato e amônio) e produto (IgG). A partir dos resultados obtidos, foram calculadas as grandezas representativas do metabolismo celular: concentração máxima de células (X máx), taxa específica de crescimento celular (µexp), tempo de duplicação (td) e coeficientes de rendimento de glicose em células (YX/glc), glutamina em células (Y X/gln), células em produto (YP/X), glutamina em amônio (YNH4/gln), glicose em lactato (Ylac/glc), glicose em produto (YP/glc) e glutamina em produto (YP/gln). O meio livre de soro mostrou ser capaz de fornecer melhores condições para o crescimento celular (alcançando 4 x 106 céls/mL), mantendo a viabilidade por um período maior de tempo, nos três sistemas decultivo testados. Quanto à formação de produto, no meio livre de soro, os hibridomas também secretaram altas concentrações de IgG, alcançando níveis de 3 µg/mL. Os melhores resultados de crescimento e viabilidade celular foram observados em garrafas rollera 40 rpm (após adaptação a rotações inferiores) e a produção de IgG foi maior em garrafas rollera 16 rpm (também após adaptação a rotações inferiores) e em frascos do tipo spinner a 50 rpm (após adaptação a rotações inferiores em garrafas rolleraté 40 rpm). Quando foram comparadas as concentrações de IgG entre os sobrenadantes de cultivo e três amostras de fluido ascítico do mesmo hibridoma, foi observado que o fluido ascítico continha concentrações 10 a 20 vezes maiores que as obtidas nos sobrenadantes de cultivo. Entretanto, como os volumes de sobrenadantes de cultivo são significativamente maiores do que os de fluido ascítico de camundongos, infere-se que é viável a substituição da produção in vivopela obtenção do anticorpo monoclonal estudado neste trabalho em sistemas agitados, utilizando-se meio livre de soro animal. Contudo, sugere-se a condução de experimentos adicionais para confirmação da total viabilidade da obtenção de anticorpos monoclonais anti-dengue tipo2 in vitroutilizando o processo proposto no presente trabalho. / Since Köhler and Milstein’s work (1975), hybridoma cells have been cultured to obtain monoclonal antibodies for research, diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. The traditional method to obtain high concentrations (5 to 10 mg/mL) of the monoclonal antibodies is the induction of ascite in mice. This technique is being replaced by high cell density cultivations. In this work, hybridoma secreting anti-dengue type 2 monoclonal antibodies were cultivated in T flasks, roller bottles and spinner flasks, using DMEM medium supplemented with fetal bovine serum at 10%, and the commercial serum-free medium Ex-Cell® TiterHigh TM (Sigma). Cell concentration, cell viability, as well as concentration of nutrients (glucose and glutamine), metabolites (lactate and amonium) and product (IgG) were evaluated along culture time in the different media and culture systems. Based on these data, variables that reflect the cell metabolism were calculated: maximum cell concentration (Xmáx), specific cell growth rate (µexp), duplication time (td), as well as the yield coefficients of glucose to cells (YX/glc), glutamine to cells (YX/gln), cells to product (YP/X), glutamine to ammonium (Y NH4/gln), glucose to lactate (Ylac/glc), glucose to product (YP/glc) and glutamine to product (YP/gln). Among the culture media, the serum-free medium showed to provide better conditions for cell growth (reaching 4 x 106 cells/mL), keeping high cell viabilities for a longer period, in all three tested culture systems. Concerning product formation, hybridoma also released high IgG concentrations (3 µg/mL) in the serum-free medium. Among the culture systems, the best results for cell growth and viability were found inroller bottles at 40 rpm (after adaptation under lower rotation rates) and IgG production was higher in roller bottles at 16 rpm (after adaptation under lower rotation rates) and in spinner flasks at 50 rpm (after adaptation under lower rotation rates in roller bottles, up to 40 rpm). The IgG concentrations ascitic fluid presented concentrations 10 to 20 times higher thanthose obtained in culture supernatants. However, since the volumes of culture supernatant obtained in relatively simple, small-scale culture systems are significantly higher than thoseof mice ascitic fluids, the replacement of in vivoproduction for in vitroIgG production in stirred systems, using serum-free media, seems to be feasible. Nevertheless, additional experiments should be carried out to confirm the feasibility of switching the production of anti-dengue type 2 monoclonal antibodies for in vitrosystems, using the process proposed in this work.