A fluid-walled microfluidic platform for human neuron microcircuits and directed axotomy
Creators
- 1. Osney Thermofluids Institute, Department of Engineering Science, University of Oxford, Osney Mead, Oxford OX2 0ES, United Kingdom
- 2. The Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3RE, United Kingdom
- 3. Oxford Parkinson's Disease Centre and Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics, University of Oxford, South Park Road, Oxford OX1 3QU, United Kingdom
- 4. Kavli Institute for Neuroscience Discovery, University of Oxford, Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin Building, South Park Road, Oxford OX1 3QU, United Kingdom
- 5. Aligning Science Across Parkinson's
- 6. The Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3RE, United Kingdom.
Description
ABSTRACT
In our brains, different neurons make appropriate connections; however, there remain few in vitro models of such circuits. We use an open microfluidic approach to build and study neuronal circuits in vitro in ways that fit easily into existing bio-medical workflows. Dumbbell-shaped circuits are built in minutes in standard Petri dishes; the aqueous phase is confined by fluid walls – interfaces between cell-growth medium and an immiscible fluorocarbon, FC40. Conditions are established that ensure post-mitotic neurons derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) plated in one chamber of a dumbbell remain where deposited. After seeding cortical neurons on one side, axons grow through the connecting conduit to ramify amongst striatal neurons on the other – an arrangement mimicking unidirectional cortico-striatal connectivity. We also develop a moderate-throughput non-contact axotomy assay. Cortical axons in conduits are severed by a media jet; then, brain-derived neurotrophic factor and striatal neurons in distal chambers promote axon regeneration. As additional conduits and chambers are easily added, this opens up the possibility of mimicking complex neuronal networks, and screening drugs for their effects on connectivity.
FILE DESCRIPTIONS
Source Data.xlsx: Tabular datasets plotted on Main Figures 2, 3 and 6, and Supplementary Figures 1 and 2.
Key Resources Table.xlsx: Table containing details on the key resources (antibodies, cell lines, virus strains, software, code, and protocols) used in this study.
Files
Files
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Additional details
Funding
- Mapping the modulatory landscape governing striatal dopamine signaling and its dysregulation in Parkinson’s disease ASAP-020370
- Aligning Science Across Parkinson's
Software
- Repository URL
- https://github.com/craggASAP/microfluid_axotomy