Co-culture methods to study neuronal function and disease

Abstract

Several co-culture techniques have been developed to answer research questions, with both the cultures and questions ranging from simple to complex in nature. Intercellular communication, paracrine signaling, synaptic signaling, chemical and physical cues from the extracellular environment, signal attenuation or enhancement and spatial distinction can all be assessed depending on the assay chosen. With recent improvements in biomaterials, genetic techniques and fundamental knowledge of organ dynamics, the development of a functional (innervated), regenerated organ is due to progress at a rapid pace. Future research will capitalize on combining multiple techniques, such as patterning a microfluidic chamber to promote accurate tissue construction similar to that described above with scaffolds. Therapeutic strategies can be fine-tuned by the ability to assess time- and concentrationrelated gradients of chemotherapeutics. While each of these techniques have unique attributes that make them useful for specific studies, the low volume requirements and capacity to integrate automation into the microfluidic platform could soon be utilized in large-scale studies to expedite the progress and reduce the costs of bench-tobedside research.