idw – Informationsdienst Wissenschaft

Nachrichten, Termine, Experten

Grafik: idw-Logo
Science Video Project
idw-Abo

idw-News App:

AppStore

Google Play Store



Instanz:
Teilen: 
13.07.2016 16:47

Adipose analysis on microfluidic chips

Rudolf-Werner Dreier Presse- und Öffentlichkeitsarbeit
Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg im Breisgau

    Platform works with minute quantities of liquid to grow cells and study their development

    A Freiburg-based research group has developed a microfluidic chip where more than one hundred apidose-derived adult stem cell cultures can grow and divide. In the human body, adipose tissue acts as a primary energy store. Adult stem cells have the task of maintaining and regenerating this process. The researchers used the new lab-on-a-chip to study how adult stem cells in adipose tissue develop into mature fat cells, conducting their investigations outside the body. Previous experiments have enabled them to decode a signalling pathway involved in adipose cell maturation and to show that calories in the nutrient medium influence this process. The team has published the results of its research in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). “Going forward, we want to investigate the environmental factors – particularly the nutrient conditions – that cause different adipose cell types to grow,” explains biophysicist Dr. Matthias Meier. “This will enable us to develop new approaches to combating obesity and diabetes.”

    In contrast to embryonic stem cells, when adult stem cells divide, their offspring are only able to develop at the same site and in certain tissue types. Factors such as insulin and blood sugar levels also influence whether or not adult stem cells in adipose tissue will develop into mature adipose cell. Aberrations in this maturation process can lead to diabetes or obesity. The multitude of factors operating here make it very complicated, however, for scientists to investigate this process outside the body.
    In order to overcome this problem, the Freiburg-based research group has developed a microfluidic chip that works with minute volumes of liquid: The platform uses microchannels to feed cell cultures with nutrients during their three-week growth period. A special feature of the set-up is an automatic protein analysis program integrated into the chip, which decodes signalling pathways during cell growth. The new technology allows the researchers to vary the external cell factors such that the micro-environment on the chip resembles conditions within the body as closely as possible. This enabled adipose-derived adult stem cells to be successfully converted into mature fat cells within the experiments, and the corresponding signalling pathway mTORC1 was also decoded. “By increasing the calorie content in the nutrient medium, we were able to show that fat is stored more rapidly during maturation,” states Meier. “However, it remains unclear whether adjusting the calorie levels in this way leads to an increased rate of adipose cell formation.” To answer this question, the research team now wants to systematically use the chip technology to study the association between human eating habits and the formation of fat cells.

    Eight researchers were involved in the study: Matthias Blazek, Matthias Meier, Indranil Mitra, Alina Platen, Nils Schneider, Xuanye Wu and Prof. Dr. Roland Zengerle conduct research at the Department of Microsystems Engineering (IMTEK) and belong to the BIOSS Centre for Biological Signalling Studies Cluster of Excellence at the University of Freiburg. Prof. Dr. Roland Schüle is the Scientific Director of the Centre for Clinical Research at Freiburg University Hospital.

    Original publication:
    Xuanye Wu, Nils Schneider, Alina Platen, Indranil Mitra, Matthias Blazek, Roland Zengerle, Roland Schüle and Matthias Meier (2016). In situ characterization of the mTORC1 during adipogenesis of human adult stem cells on chip. PNAS Early Edition. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1601207113

    Contact:
    Dr. Matthias Meier
    Institut für Mikrosystemtechnik
    Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg
    Phone: +49 (0)761 / 203 – 73241
    E-Mail: matthias.meier@imtek.uni-freiburg.de


    Weitere Informationen:

    https://www.pr.uni-freiburg.de/pm/2016/pm.2016-07-13.104-en


    Bilder

    Caption: The microfluidic chip (background) and adipose cells (close-up section view).
    Caption: The microfluidic chip (background) and adipose cells (close-up section view).
    Source: Matthias Meier
    None


    Merkmale dieser Pressemitteilung:
    Journalisten, Wissenschaftler
    Biologie, Chemie, Informationstechnik
    überregional
    Forschungsergebnisse, Wissenschaftliche Publikationen
    Englisch


     

    Caption: The microfluidic chip (background) and adipose cells (close-up section view).


    Zum Download

    x

    Hilfe

    Die Suche / Erweiterte Suche im idw-Archiv
    Verknüpfungen

    Sie können Suchbegriffe mit und, oder und / oder nicht verknüpfen, z. B. Philo nicht logie.

    Klammern

    Verknüpfungen können Sie mit Klammern voneinander trennen, z. B. (Philo nicht logie) oder (Psycho und logie).

    Wortgruppen

    Zusammenhängende Worte werden als Wortgruppe gesucht, wenn Sie sie in Anführungsstriche setzen, z. B. „Bundesrepublik Deutschland“.

    Auswahlkriterien

    Die Erweiterte Suche können Sie auch nutzen, ohne Suchbegriffe einzugeben. Sie orientiert sich dann an den Kriterien, die Sie ausgewählt haben (z. B. nach dem Land oder dem Sachgebiet).

    Haben Sie in einer Kategorie kein Kriterium ausgewählt, wird die gesamte Kategorie durchsucht (z.B. alle Sachgebiete oder alle Länder).