Increasingly, drug-induced liver injury is one of the main reason for drugs to be withdrawn from the market even after passing toxicity studies in pre-clinical and clinical trials because of risks of toxicity and ineffective treatments. Human immortalised hepatocyte cell lines used in drug testing are widely available, inexpensive and easy to culture. However, these cell lines are commonly known to have poor predictive capabilities and improved in vitro hepatic models are required for predicting hepatotoxicity of large numbers of compounds in drug discovery. In this study, the primary goal was to develop an improved in vitro human hepatic model using a combination of the C3A human hepatic cell line and human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs), for prediction of acetaminophen (APAP) hepatotoxicity. Initial experiments showed that co-culture of HUVEC:C3A in EGM-2, an endothelial medium, was essential to support both cell types, and that co-cultures maintained the initial cell seeding ratio of 1:1 (HUVEC:C3A) after 3 days. Phenotyping of co-cultured cells using platelet endothelial cell adhesion molecule (PECAM-1/CD31) for HUVECs, and hepatic epithelial (EpCAM) markers for C3As demonstrated that at ratio 1:1 (HUVEC:C3A), there is cross-talk between HUVECs and C3As and cells in co-culture showed properties of self-organisation. This interaction resulted in improved hepatic metabolic activity in vitro in respect of albumin synthesis and cytochrome P450 activity. Treatment with low (5 mM), intermediate (10 mM) and high doses (20 mM) of APAP, showed that prediction of hepatotoxicity using specific kits for cell viability and mitochondria function, was significantly improved in C3As in the presence of HUVECs, thus demonstrating an in vitro human hepatic co-culture could be an invaluable model for drug toxicity studies. We observed that the intermediate APAP dose had no effect on cell viability and mitochondrial function in co-cultures, whilst by comparison both lactate levels and oxidative stress were perturbed in mono-cultures. Co-cultures also up-regulated expression of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 (VEGFR-2) in HUVECs following APAP exposure, which may be important in modulating the toxic effect of APAP on C3As. To further improve the in vitro liver-like model, Matrigel™ was incorporated to promote vascular formation by HUVECs and support hepatic organization, migration and function of C3As. In HUVEC mono-cultures, Matrigel™-promoted vascularization, haptotaxis and self-organization and in HUVEC:C3A co-cultures formation of structures reminiscent of liver sinusoids and maintenance of hepatic albumin synthesis and CYP3A4 activity. Time-lapse imaging showed haptotactic migration of hepatocytes towards endothelial cells, with Matrigel™ likely having a chemotactic effect on HUVECs and C3As, resulting in interconnected vascular network. APAP inhibited angiogenesis in HUVEC mono-cultures whereas APAP had no effect in HUVEC:C3A co-cultures. In conclusion, the development of an in vitro human organotypic co-culture model of HUVECs and C3As significantly enhanced hepatic function, demonstrated by significant improvement in hepatic metabolism, evidence of greater resistance to APAP toxicity, and improved cell-cell communication. Co-cultures markedly modulated APAP hepatotoxicity compared with C3A mono-cultures. Furthermore, co-culture of HUVECs and C3As using a complex basement membrane biomatrix (Matrigel™) produced a self-assembling interconnected vascular network, improved hepatocyte function as well as reproducibility of responses to APAP toxicity. The application of the described co-culture models may improve the accuracy, efficacy and predictive power of drug toxicity testing strategies in drug development.

No description available.

Après exposition par inhalation, les nanoparticules (NPs) peuvent atteindre les alvéoles pulmonaires, se retrouver au niveau de la barrière alvéolo-capillaire (BAC), et induire une toxicité locale et / ou franchir cette barrière pour se retrouver dans la circulation sanguine. Dans ce contexte, l’objectif de ce travail a été de développer des modèles de co-cultures in vitro simples à mettre en œuvre (utilisation de lignées cellulaires humaines), pour étudier les effets des NPs au niveau de la BAC. Dans un premier temps, des co-cultures de cellules épithéliales alvéolaires ou de phénotype proche (lignées A549 ou NCI-H441), et de macrophages (lignée THP-1), ont permis l’étude des effets pro-inflammatoires des NPs de SiO2 et de TiO2. Avec ces modèles nous avons montré l’importance de la coopération cellulaire mise en jeu lors des processus inflammatoires liés aux NPs, mais aussi le rôle du ratio cellulaire employé dans ces réponses. Dans un second temps, des co-cultures tridimensionnelles en chambres bicamérales associant des macrophages (lignée THP-1), des cellules épithéliales bronchiques (lignée Calu-3), et des cellules endothéliales pulmonaires microvasculaires (lignée HPMEC-ST1.6R), ont permis l’étude de l’impact de NPs fluorescentes de polystyrène sur l’intégrité de la BAC, et leur passage à travers cette barrière. Les cellules épithéliales Calu-3 permettent d’établir une barrière de qualité mais la membrane microporeuse servant de support aux cellules doit être optimisée pour ne pas être un frein au passage des NPs. Ce travail montre qu’un seul modèle ne permet pas d’étudier de façon optimale à la fois la toxicité et la translocation des NPs, et qu’une approche adaptée doit être envisagée en fonction du paramètre que l’on souhaite étudier. / After inhalation, nanoparticles (NPs) can reach the alveoli and the alveolo-capillary barrier (ACB), and consequently induce local toxicity and / or cross this barrier to reach the bloodstream. In this context, the aim of this work was to develop co-culture in vitro models simple to implement (using human cell lines), to study effects of NPs on the ACB. In a first time, pro-inflammatory effects of SiO2 and TiO2 NPs were studied on co-cultures of alveolar epithelial cells (A549 and NCI-H441 cell lines), and macrophages (THP-1 cell line). We demonstrated the importance of cell cooperation during inflammatory processes caused by these NPs, and the role of the cellular ratio in these inflammatory responses. In a second time, effects of fluorescent polystyrene NPs on the ACB integrity, and their translocation were studied on three-dimensional co-cultures in bicameral chambers involving macrophages (THP-1 cell line), bronchial epithelial cells (Calu-3 cell line), and micro-vascular pulmonary endothelial cells (HPMEC ST1.6R cell line). The use of Calu-3 has provided a good barrier, but further investigations on microporous membranes are still needed to not interfere with NPs translocation. Altogether, these results show that a tailored approach should be considered in order to study toxicity or translocation of NPs.

One of the greatest obstacles to clinical translation of bone tissue engineering is the inability to effectively and efficiently vascularise scaffolds. This limits the size of defects that can be repaired, as blood perfusion is necessary to provide nutrient and waste exchange to tissue at the core of scaffolds. The goal of this work was to systematically explore whether architecture, at a scale of hundreds of microns, can be used to direct the growth of microvessels into the core of scaffolds. A pipeline was developed for the production of hydroxyapatite surfaces with controlled architecture. Three batches of hydroxyapatite were used with two different particle morphologies and size distributions. On sintering, one batch remained phase pure and the other two batches were biphasic mixtures of α-tricalcium phosphate (α-TCP) and hydroxyapatite. Sample production methods based on slip casting of a hydroxyapatite-gelatin slurry were explored. The most successful of these involved the use of curable silicone to produce moulds of high-resolution, three dimensional (3D) printed parts with the desired design. Parts were dried and sintered to produce patterned surfaces with higher resolution than obtainable through conventional 3D printing techniques. Given the difficulties associated with the structural reproducibility of concave pores architectures in 3D reported in the literature, in this work, a 2.5D model has been developed that varies architectural parameters in a controlled manner. Six contrasting architectures consisting of semi-circular ridges and grooves were produced. Grooves and ridges were designed to have widths of 330 μm and 660 μm, with periodicities, respectively, of 1240 μm and 630 μm. Groove depth was varied between 150 μm and 585 μm. Co-cultures of endothelial cells and osteoblasts were optimised and used to grow microcapillary-like structures (referred to as "microvessels") on substrates. Literature shows that these precursors to microcapillaries contain lumina and can produce functional vasculature, demonstrating their clinical promise. The effects of the composition and surface texture of grooved samples on microvessel formation were studied. It was found that surface microtopography and phase purity (α-TCP content) did not affect microvessel formation. However, hydroxyapatite architecture was found to significantly affect microvessel location and orientation. Microvessels were found to form predominantly in grooves or between convexities. Two metrics - the degree of alignment (DOA) and the degree of containment (DOC) - were developed to measure the alignment of endothelial cell structures and their localisation in grooves. For all patterned samples, the CD31 (an endothelial cell marker) signal was at least 2.5 times higher along grooves versus perpendicular to grooves. In addition, the average signal was at least two times higher within grooves than outside grooves for all samples. Small deep grooves had the highest DOA and DOC (6.13 and 4.05 respectively), and individual, highly aligned microvessels were formed. An image analysis method that compares sample X-ray microtomography sections to original designs to quantify architectural distortion was developed. This method will serve as a useful tool for improvements to architectural control for future studies. This body of work shows the crucial influence of architecture on microvessel self-assembly at the hundreds of micron scale. It also highlights that microvessel formation has a relatively low sensitivity to phase composition and microtopography. These findings have important implications for the design of porous scaffolds and the refinement of fabrication technologies. While important results were shown for six preliminary architectures, this work represents a toolkit that can be applied to screen any 2.5D architecture for its angiogenic potential. This work has laid the foundations that will allow elucidating the precise correspondence between architecture and microvessel organisation, ultimately enabling the "engineering" of microvasculature by tuning local scaffold design to achieve desirable microvessel properties.

Verschiedene Ursachen erfordern rekonstruktive Maßnahmen an der Trachea zur Erhaltung eines suffizienten Luftweges. Häufig treten im Rahmen dieser Eingriffe Infektionen und Schädigungen auf, die die Bildung von Granulationsgewebe nach sich ziehen und zu Stenosen führen können. Der Einsatz von epithelialisierten autogenen oder auch allogenen Transplantaten, die mit der Methode des Tissue Engineering hergestellt werden, bietet einen neuen Lösungsansatz, um Stenosen zu vermeiden. Diese Arbeit beschäftigt sich mit der Isolierung, Kultivierung und Charakterisierung von humanem respiratorischen Epithelzellen (hREC), sowie deren Einsatz in Co-Kulturen mit humanen Chondrozyten als einen ersten Schritt zur Transplantatherstellung. Die hREC wurden sowohl in nativem Gewebe als auch in Monolayerkultur und in verschiedenen Differenzierungkulturen histologisch und immunhistochemisch analysiert. Zusätzlich wurde die Ziliogenense mit der Elektronenmikroskop untersucht. Eine weitere Charakterisierung erfolgte durch die Genexpressionsanalyse einiger Cytokeratine auf RNA-Ebene mit der semiquantitativen real-time RT-PCR. Mittels Durchflusszytometrie konnten Basalzellen, die auch als Vorläuferzellen des humanen respiratorischen Epithels gelten, mit den Antikörpern CD49f und CD104 detektiert und analysiert und unter Verwendung der fluoreszenzaktivierten Zellsortierung (FACS) separiert werden. Es zeigte sich, dass die hREC in den Proliferationskulturen dedifferenzierten und durch spezielle Basalzellmarker angefärbt wurden. Die Differenzierungskulturen und ALI-Kulturen gaben erste Hinweise auf die Differenzierung der Zellen. In den Co-Kulturen konnte unter dem Einfluß eines Air-Liquid-Inteface ebenfalls eine Re-differenzierung der Zellen beobachtet werden. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass es möglich ist, eine Epithelialisierung von kollagenbeschichteten Biomaterialien oder auch autologem Knorpel zu erreichen, um diese Konstrukte für das Trachea Tissue Engineering einzusetzen. / The replacement of extensive tracheal defects resulting from intensive care medicine, trauma, or large resections is still challenged by the re-epithelialization of an autologous or alloplastic trachea replacement. Therefore, this thesis was performed to investigate the potential of culture expanded human respiratory epithelial cells (hREC) to regenerate a functional epithelium for trachea tissue engineering.hREC from nasal turbinates were freshly isolated, expanded and subsequently cultured in high-density multilayers to allow epithelial differentiation. Composition of epithelial cells in native respiratory epithelial tissue and culture expanded hREC were analyzed by histological staining and by immunohistochemical staining with the specific antibodies. Differentiation of culture expanded hREC was further characterized by gene expression analysis of a cytokeratin pattern using semi-quantitative real-time RT-PCR technique. Furthermore, basal cells known as progenitors of the respiratory epithelium were seperated by Fluorescense Activated Cell Sorting with the basal cell specific antibodies CD49f and CD104. Co-cultures of hREC and human chondrocytes (hCHO) or human cartilage respectively were compared to Air-Liquid-Interface cultures containing hREC and hCHO.Histological and immunohistochemical staining and Scanning Electron Microscopy pictures of hREC in differentiation cultures demonstrated basal cells covering the collagenous matrix. These cells formed a cellular multilayer, which is composed of a basal layer of undifferentiated basal cells and an upper layer of cells differentiating along the squamous metaplasia and ciliated cell lineage. Lineage development of cultured hREC was further documented by the induction of specific cytokeratins. Our results suggest that culture expanded hREC have the potential to colonize collagen coated biomaterials as well as autologous cartilage grafts and to regenerate epithelial cell types for trachea tissue engineering.

The development of new therapeutical approaches, devised to foster the regeneration of neuronal circuits after injury and/or in neurodegenerative diseases, is of great importance. The impairment of dopaminergic projections is especially severe, because these projections are involved in crucial brain functions such as motor control, reward and cognition. In the work presented here, organotypic brain slice co-cultures of (a) the mesostriatal and (b) the mesocortical dopaminergic projection systems consisting of tissue sections of the ventral tegmental area/substantia nigra (VTA/SN), in combination with the target regions of (a) the striatum (STR) or (b) the prefrontal cortex (PFC), respectively, were used to evaluate different approaches to stimulate neurite outgrowth: (i) inhibition of cAMP/cGMP turnover with 3’,5’ cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase inhibitors (PDE-Is), (ii) blockade of calcium currents with nimodipine, and (iii) the co-cultivation with bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stromal/stem cells (BM-MSCs). The neurite growth-promoting properties of the tested substances and cell populations were analyzed by neurite density quantification in the border region between the two brain slices, using biocytin tracing or tyrosine hydroxylase labeling and automated image processing procedures. In addition, toxicological tests and gene expression analyses were conducted. (i) PDE-Is were applied to VTA/SN+STR rat co-cultures. The quantification of neurite density after both biocytin tracing and tyrosine hydroxylase labeling revealed a growth promoting effect of the PDE2A-Is BAY60-7550 and ND7001. The application of the PDE10-I MP-10 did not alter neurite density in comparison to the vehicle control. (ii) The effects of nimodipine were evaluated in VTA/SN+PFC rat co-cultures. A neurite growth-promoting effect of 0.1 µM and 1 µM nimodipine was demonstrated in a projection system of the CNS. In contrast, the application of 10 µM nimodipine did not alter neurite density, compared to the vehicle control, but induced the activation of the apoptosis marker caspase 3. The expression levels of the investigated genes, including Ca2+ binding proteins (Pvalb, S100b), immediate early genes (Arc, Egr1, Egr2, Egr4, Fos and JunB), glial fibrillary acidic protein, and myelin components (Mal, Mog, Plp1) were not significantly changed (with the exception of Egr4) by the treatment with 0.1 µM and 1 µM nimodipine. (iii) Bulk BM-MSCs that were classically isolated by plastic adhesion were compared to the subpopulation Sca-1+Lin-CD45--derived MSCs (SL45-MSCs). The neurite growth-promoting properties of both MSC populations were quantified in VTA/SN+PFC mouse co-cultures. For this purpose, the MSCs were seeded on glass slides that were placed underneath the co-cultures. A significantly enhanced neurite density within the co-cultures was induced by both bulk BM-MSCs and SL45-MSCs. SL45-MSCs increased neurite density to a higher degree. The characterization of both MSC populations revealed that the frequency of fibroblast colony forming units (CFU-f ) is 105-fold higher in SL45-MSCs. SL45-MSCs were morphologically more homogeneous and expressed higher levels of nestin, BDNF and FGF2 compared to bulk BM-MSCs. Thus, this work emphasizes the vast potential for molecular targeting with respect to the development of therapeutic strategies in the enhancement of neurite regrowth.

The development of new therapeutical approaches, devised to foster the regeneration of neuronal circuits after injury and/or in neurodegenerative diseases, is of great importance. The impairment of dopaminergic projections is especially severe, because these projections are involved in crucial brain functions such as motor control, reward and cognition. In the work presented here, organotypic brain slice co-cultures of (a) the mesostriatal and (b) the mesocortical dopaminergic projection systems consisting of tissue sections of the ventral tegmental area/substantia nigra (VTA/SN), in combination with the target regions of (a) the striatum (STR) or (b) the prefrontal cortex (PFC), respectively, were used to evaluate different approaches to stimulate neurite outgrowth: (i) inhibition of cAMP/cGMP turnover with 3’,5’ cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase inhibitors (PDE-Is), (ii) blockade of calcium currents with nimodipine, and (iii) the co-cultivation with bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stromal/stem cells (BM-MSCs). The neurite growth-promoting properties of the tested substances and cell populations were analyzed by neurite density quantification in the border region between the two brain slices, using biocytin tracing or tyrosine hydroxylase labeling and automated image processing procedures. In addition, toxicological tests and gene expression analyses were conducted. (i) PDE-Is were applied to VTA/SN+STR rat co-cultures. The quantification of neurite density after both biocytin tracing and tyrosine hydroxylase labeling revealed a growth promoting effect of the PDE2A-Is BAY60-7550 and ND7001. The application of the PDE10-I MP-10 did not alter neurite density in comparison to the vehicle control. (ii) The effects of nimodipine were evaluated in VTA/SN+PFC rat co-cultures. A neurite growth-promoting effect of 0.1 µM and 1 µM nimodipine was demonstrated in a projection system of the CNS. In contrast, the application of 10 µM nimodipine did not alter neurite density, compared to the vehicle control, but induced the activation of the apoptosis marker caspase 3. The expression levels of the investigated genes, including Ca2+ binding proteins (Pvalb, S100b), immediate early genes (Arc, Egr1, Egr2, Egr4, Fos and JunB), glial fibrillary acidic protein, and myelin components (Mal, Mog, Plp1) were not significantly changed (with the exception of Egr4) by the treatment with 0.1 µM and 1 µM nimodipine. (iii) Bulk BM-MSCs that were classically isolated by plastic adhesion were compared to the subpopulation Sca-1+Lin-CD45--derived MSCs (SL45-MSCs). The neurite growth-promoting properties of both MSC populations were quantified in VTA/SN+PFC mouse co-cultures. For this purpose, the MSCs were seeded on glass slides that were placed underneath the co-cultures. A significantly enhanced neurite density within the co-cultures was induced by both bulk BM-MSCs and SL45-MSCs. SL45-MSCs increased neurite density to a higher degree. The characterization of both MSC populations revealed that the frequency of fibroblast colony forming units (CFU-f ) is 105-fold higher in SL45-MSCs. SL45-MSCs were morphologically more homogeneous and expressed higher levels of nestin, BDNF and FGF2 compared to bulk BM-MSCs. Thus, this work emphasizes the vast potential for molecular targeting with respect to the development of therapeutic strategies in the enhancement of neurite regrowth.:Table of contents Abbreviations 1 1. Introduction 2 1.1 The dopaminergic system 2 1.2 Neurite regeneration following mechanical lesions of the CNS 7 1.3 Organotypic brain slice co-cultures 8 1.4 Promising substances and cells to enhance neuroregeneration 10 1.5 The aim of the thesis 14 2. The original research articles 16 2.1 Phosphodiesterase 2 inhibitors promote axonal outgrowth in organotypic slice co-cultures 17 2.2 Nimodipine enhances neurite outgrowth in dopaminergic brain slice co-cultures 35 2.3 Mesenchymal stem cells support neuronal fiber growth in an organotypic brain slice co-culture model 50 3. References 66 Appendices 73 Summary 73 Zusammenfassung 78 Curriculum Vitae 84 Track Record 85 Selbständigkeitserklärung 87 Acknowledgments 88

No description available.