TY - JOUR
T1 - Microfluidic chip with low constant-current stimulation (LCCS) platform
T2 - Human nucleus pulposus degeneration in vitro model for symptomatic intervertebral disc
AU - Kim, An Gi
AU - Kim, Tae Won
AU - Kwon, Woo Keun
AU - Lee, Kwang Ho
AU - Jeong, Sehoon
AU - Hwang, Min Ho
AU - Choi, Hyuk
N1 - Funding Information:
Funding: This research was supported by the Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education (2019R1A6A3A01091920, 2020R1F1A1068910, and 2021R1l1A1A01042679).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
PY - 2021/11
Y1 - 2021/11
N2 - Intervertebral disc (IVD) degeneration is a major cause of low back pain (LBP) in the lumbar spine. This phenomenon is caused by several processes, including matrix degradation in IVD tissues, which is mediated by matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and inflammatory responses, which can be mediated by interactions among immune cells, such as macrophages and IVD cells. In particular, interleukin (IL)-1 beta (β), which is a master regulator secreted by macrophages, mediates the inflammatory response in nucleus pulposus cells (NP) and plays a significant role in the development or progression of diseases. In this study, we developed a custom electrical stimulation (ES) platform that can apply low-constant-current stimulation (LCCS) signals to microfluidic chips. Using this platform, we examined the effects of LCCS on IL-1β-mediated inflammatory NP cells, administered at various currents (5, 10, 20, 50, and 100 μA at 200 Hz). Our results showed that the inflammatory response, induced by IL-1β in human NP cells, was successfully established. Further-more, 5, 10, 20, and 100 μA LCCS positively modulated inflamed human NP cells’ morphological phenotype and kinetic properties. LCCS could affect the treatment of degenerative diseases, reveal-ing the applicability of the LCCS platform for basic research of electroceuticals.
AB - Intervertebral disc (IVD) degeneration is a major cause of low back pain (LBP) in the lumbar spine. This phenomenon is caused by several processes, including matrix degradation in IVD tissues, which is mediated by matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and inflammatory responses, which can be mediated by interactions among immune cells, such as macrophages and IVD cells. In particular, interleukin (IL)-1 beta (β), which is a master regulator secreted by macrophages, mediates the inflammatory response in nucleus pulposus cells (NP) and plays a significant role in the development or progression of diseases. In this study, we developed a custom electrical stimulation (ES) platform that can apply low-constant-current stimulation (LCCS) signals to microfluidic chips. Using this platform, we examined the effects of LCCS on IL-1β-mediated inflammatory NP cells, administered at various currents (5, 10, 20, 50, and 100 μA at 200 Hz). Our results showed that the inflammatory response, induced by IL-1β in human NP cells, was successfully established. Further-more, 5, 10, 20, and 100 μA LCCS positively modulated inflamed human NP cells’ morphological phenotype and kinetic properties. LCCS could affect the treatment of degenerative diseases, reveal-ing the applicability of the LCCS platform for basic research of electroceuticals.
KW - Electrical stimulation
KW - Inflammation
KW - Intervertebral disc degeneration
KW - Low constant-current stimulation
KW - Microfluidic chip
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85118183431&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3390/mi12111291
DO - 10.3390/mi12111291
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85118183431
VL - 12
JO - Micromachines
JF - Micromachines
SN - 2072-666X
IS - 11
M1 - 1291
ER -
