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Programmable Static Droplet Array for the Analysis of Cell–Cell Communication in a Confined Microenvironment
journal contribution
posted on 2017-08-21, 00:00 authored by Si Hyung Jin, Sung Sik Lee, Byungjin Lee, Seong-Geun Jeong, Matthias Peter, Chang-Soo LeeDirect
cell–cell communication can occur through various
chemical and mechanical signals. However, available cell culture systems
lack single-cell resolution and are often limited by sensitivity and
accuracy. In this study, we present an accurate, efficient and controllable
microfluidic device that can be used for in situ monitoring of natural
cell–cell contact and signaling processes in a confined microenvironment.
This innovative static droplet array (SDA) enables highly efficient
trapping, encapsulation, arraying, storage, and incubation of defined
cell populations. For proof-of-principle experiments, we monitored
the response of budding yeast to peptide mating pheromones, as it
is one of the best understood examples of eukaryotic cell–cell
communication. Specifically, we measured the yeast response to varying
concentration of synthetic MATα-type mating factor, as well as varying the cell number ratio of MATα and MATa in a confined space. We found clear morphological and doubling-time
changes during the mating reaction with a significantly higher accuracy
than conventional methods. Further, phenotypic analysis of data generated
with the microfluidic static droplet array allowed distinguishing
the function of genes in yeast mutants defective for different aspects
of pheromone signaling. Taken together, the microfluidic platform
provides a valuable research tool to study cell–cell communication
and signaling in a controlled microenvironment with the sensitivity
and accuracy required for screening and long-term phenotypic analysis.