可模擬肝臟竇狀間隙高壓之三維細胞培養平台

Abstract

肝臟星狀細胞在肝硬化的形成扮演了非常重要的腳色：製造大量的組織纖維，提高肝臟竇狀間隙的壓力以及門脈高壓等。然而，過去的研究大多注重於化學因子的研究，而物理性刺激如間隙內的高壓，血流造成的剪應力等常被忽略。在此研究中，我們發展了一個能夠模擬肝臟竇狀間隙周圍物理環境的三維細胞培養之微流道平台，來研究水壓對於肝臟星狀細胞的影響。

Hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) play a crucial role in the development of liver fibrosis which is characterized by massive tissue scarring, elevated hepatic sinusoidal pressure, and portal hypertension. However, while a multitude of chemical factors have been investigated in the pathogenesis of liver fibrosis, physical factors such as elevated hydrostatic pressure and shear stress caused by blood flow in sinusoids remain unclear. In this study, we developed a 3D cell culture microfluidic platform that mimics the physical environments of hepatic sinusoids to investigate the effects of elevated hydrostatic pressure on HSCs phenotypes.