University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Characterization and modeling of cell activation upon TGF-β1 stimulation in a 3-D culture system

Xu, Jing

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3_Xu_Jing.pdf

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/16963

Description

Title
Characterization and modeling of cell activation upon TGF-β1 stimulation in a 3-D culture system
Author(s)
Xu, Jing
Issue Date
2010-08-31T20:02:23Z
Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)
Insana, Michael F.
Department of Study
Bioengineering
Discipline
Bioengineering
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
M.S.
Degree Level
Thesis
Date of Ingest
2010-08-31T20:02:23Z
Keyword(s)
  • myofibroblasts
  • transforming growth factor-beta1
  • alpha-smooth muscle actin
  • diffusion
  • confocal microscopy imaging
  • immunofluorescence staining
Abstract
In this work, we explored a thick in vitro 3-D cell culture model with layered structure and applied transforming growth factor-beta1 (TGF-β1) on the top of the 3-D culture to induce the conversion from normal fibroblasts to myofibroblasts and expression of a marker protein, alpha-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA). The cell response with TGF-β1 stimulation was captured with immunofluorescence staining (IF) and confocal microscopy imaging of α-SMA in each cell embedded layer. Our results revealed the spatial-temporal profiles of the conversion from normal fibroblasts to myofibroblasts in 3-D culture upon TGF-β1stimulation. The conversion starting time, speed and saturation plateau are closely related to TGF-β1 concentration. Based on these experimental results, we successfully developed a mathematical model, which incorporates diffusion of growth factors and cell activation responses to describe the dynamic cell response to growth factors across the 3-D culture depth and predict the spatial-temporal profile of the fibroblast conversion within the culture. In summary, we present here a handy experimental and computational tool for researches on tumor signaling pathways, and provide some guidance for studies on diffusion of protein factors or drugs in 3-D tissue environment.
Graduation Semester
2010-08
Permalink
http://hdl.handle.net/2142/16963
Copyright and License Information
Copyright 2010 Jing Xu

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