Abstract
In vitro culturing of cells in two-dimensional (2D) environments is a widespread used methodology in biomedical research. Most commonly, cells are cultured on artificial plastic dish surfaces, which lead to abnormal functional behaviors, as plastic does not reflect the native microenvironment found in vivo or in situ. Therefore, a multitude of three-dimensional (3D) cell culture systems were developed in the past years, which aim to bridge the gap between 2D cell culture dishes and the in vivo situation. One of the more recent development in the field, the generation of viable precision-cut tissue slices from various organs emerged as an exciting approach to study complex interactions and biological processes ex vivo in 3D. Decellularization of such tissue slices leads to the removal of all functional cells, and leaves behind a scaffold of extracellular matrix (ECM), which closely recapitulates the molecular composition, mechanical properties, topology, and microarchitecture of native ECM. Subsequently, decellularized precision-cut lung slices (PCLS), also called 3D lung tissue culture (3D-LTCs), can be successfully reseeded with a variety of cell types, including fibroblasts, which attach to and engraft into the matrix. Here, we describe the generation of PCLS from resected human lung tissue and their decellularization and recellularization with primary human fibroblasts. This novel 3D tissue culture model allows for various functional studies of fibroblast behavior on native ECM composition and topology.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Hynes RO (2009) The extracellular matrix: not just pretty fibrils. Science 326(5957):1216–1219. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1176009
Burgstaller G, Sengupta A, Vierkotten S, Preissler G, Lindner M, Behr J, Konigshoff M, Eickelberg O (2018) Distinct niches within the extracellular matrix dictate fibroblast function in (cell free) 3D lung tissue cultures. Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol 314(5):L708–L723. https://doi.org/10.1152/ajplung.00408.2017
Parker MW, Rossi D, Peterson M, Smith K, Sikstrom K, White ES, Connett JE, Henke CA, Larsson O, Bitterman PB (2014) Fibrotic extracellular matrix activates a profibrotic positive feedback loop. J Clin Invest 124(4):1622–1635. https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI71386
Baker BM, Chen CS (2012) Deconstructing the third dimension: how 3D culture microenvironments alter cellular cues. J Cell Sci 125(Pt 13):3015–3024. https://doi.org/10.1242/jcs.079509
Caliari SR, Burdick JA (2016) A practical guide to hydrogels for cell culture. Nat Methods 13(5):405–414. https://doi.org/10.1038/nmeth.3839
Fisher RL, Vickers AE (2013) Preparation and culture of precision-cut organ slices from human and animal. Xenobiotica 43(1):8–14. https://doi.org/10.3109/00498254.2012.728013
Liberati TA, Randle MR, Toth LA (2010) In vitro lung slices: a powerful approach for assessment of lung pathophysiology. Expert Rev Mol Diagn 10(4):501–508. https://doi.org/10.1586/erm.10.21
Parrish AR, Gandolfi AJ, Brendel K (1995) Precision-cut tissue slices: applications in pharmacology and toxicology. Life Sci 57(21):1887–1901. https://doi.org/10.1016/0024-3205(95)02176-j
Uhl FE, Vierkotten S, Wagner DE, Burgstaller G, Costa R, Koch I, Lindner M, Meiners S, Eickelberg O, Konigshoff M (2015) Preclinical validation and imaging of Wnt-induced repair in human 3D lung tissue cultures. Eur Respir J 46(4):1150–1166. https://doi.org/10.1183/09031936.00183214
Alsafadi HN, Uhl FE, Pineda RH, Bailey KE, Rojas M, Wagner DE, Konigshoff M (2020) Applications and approaches for 3D precision-cut lung slices: disease modeling and drug discovery. Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol. https://doi.org/10.1165/rcmb.2019-0276TR
Gerckens M, Alsafadi HN, Wagner DE, Lindner M, Burgstaller G, Konigshoff M (2019) Generation of human 3D lung tissue cultures (3D-LTCs) for disease modeling. J Vis Exp (144). https://doi.org/10.3791/58437
Booth AJ, Hadley R, Cornett AM, Dreffs AA, Matthes SA, Tsui JL, Weiss K, Horowitz JC, Fiore VF, Barker TH, Moore BB, Martinez FJ, Niklason LE, White ES (2012) Acellular normal and fibrotic human lung matrices as a culture system for in vitro investigation. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 186(9):866–876. https://doi.org/10.1164/rccm.201204-0754OC
Liu G, Betts C, Cunoosamy DM, Aberg PM, Hornberg JJ, Sivars KB, Cohen TS (2019) Use of precision cut lung slices as a translational model for the study of lung biology. Respir Res 20(1):162. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12931-019-1131-x
Zscheppang K, Berg J, Hedtrich S, Verheyen L, Wagner DE, Suttorp N, Hippenstiel S, Hocke AC (2018) Human pulmonary 3D models for translational research. Biotechnol J 13(1). https://doi.org/10.1002/biot.201700341
Burgstaller G, Vierkotten S, Lindner M, Konigshoff M, Eickelberg O (2015) Multidimensional immunolabeling and 4D time-lapse imaging of vital ex vivo lung tissue. Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol 309(4):L323–L332. https://doi.org/10.1152/ajplung.00061.2015
Akram KM, Yates LL, Mongey R, Rothery S, Gaboriau DCA, Sanderson J, Hind M, Griffiths M, Dean CH (2019) Live imaging of alveologenesis in precision-cut lung slices reveals dynamic epithelial cell behaviour. Nat Commun 10(1):1178. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-09067-3
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2021 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature
About this protocol
Cite this protocol
Burgstaller, G., Gerckens, M., Eickelberg, O., Königshoff, M. (2021). Decellularized Human Lung Scaffolds as Complex Three-Dimensional Tissue Culture Models to Study Functional Behavior of Fibroblasts. In: Hinz, B., Lagares, D. (eds) Myofibroblasts. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 2299. Humana, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-1382-5_30
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-1382-5_30
Published:
Publisher Name: Humana, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-0716-1381-8
Online ISBN: 978-1-0716-1382-5
eBook Packages: Springer Protocols