multi-stream-perfusion-bioreactor-integrated-with-outlet

Multi-Stream Perfusion Bioreactor Integrated with Outlet Fractionation for Dynamic Cell Culture

Certain cell and tissue functions operate within the dynamic time scale of minutes to hours that are poorly resolved by conventional culture systems. This ...

Rutgers University

Transcriptional dynamics of cancer cells govern cell fate decisions and are therapeutically actionable drug targets. In this study, we engineered a circulating cancer cell line that secretes a luciferase reporter to capture constitutive and circadian clock-driven transcription dynamics over the course of a day. Engineered human leukemic T cells (Jurkat) were observed to rhythmically secrete luciferase in a continuous flow cell culture system. When transplanted in vivo, engineered leukemic cells caused circadian plasma luciferase activity and had expected pathological signs of leukemic disease. This technique is rapid and noninvasive, requiring only a few microliters of media or blood, and can aid in investigating relationships between in vivo cancer cell signaling and behavior, such as diet or sleep.

Tracking leukemic T-cell transcriptional dynamics in vivo with a blood-based reporter assay.

Cells exchange substances with their surroundings during metabolism, signaling, and other functions. These fluxes are dynamic, changing in response to external cues and internal programs. Static cultures are inadequate for measuring these dynamics because the environments of the cells change as substances accumulate or deplete from medium, unintentionally affecting cell behavior. Static cultures offer limited time resolution due to the impracticality of frequent or prolonged manual sampling, and cannot expose cells to smooth, transient changes in stimulus concentrations. In contrast, perfusion cultures constantly maintain cellular environments and continuously sample the effluent stream. Existing perfusion culture systems are either microfluidic, which are difficult to make and use, or macrofluidic devices built from custom parts that neglect solute dispersion. In this study, a multiplexed macrofluidic perfusion culture platform was developed to measure secretion and absorption rates of substances by cells in a temporally controlled environment. The modular platform handles up to 31 streams with automated fraction collection. This paper presents the assembly of this dynamic bioreactor from commercially available parts, and a method for quantitatively handling the effects of dispersion using residence time distributions. The system is then applied to monitor the secretion of a circadian clock gene-driven reporter from engineered cells.

Article	Year
Tracking leukemic T-cell transcriptional dynamics in vivo with a blood-based reporter assay. FEBS open bio\| PubMed ID: 32710494	2020
A continuous flow cell culture system for precision cell stimulation and time-resolved profiling of cell secretion. Analytical biochemistry\| PubMed ID: 33887234	2021

Patrick Erickson

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