Health & Environmental Research Online (HERO)


Print Feedback Export to File
3196186 
Journal Article 
Three-Dimensional Neural Spheroid Culture: An In Vitro Model for Cortical Studies 
Dingle, YT; Boutin, ME; Chirila, AM; Livi, LL; Labriola, NR; Jakubek, LM; Morgan, JR; Darling, EM; Kauer, JA; Hoffman-Kim, D 
2015 
1 
Tissue Engineering, Part C: Methods
ISSN: 1937-3384 
21 
12 
1274-1283 
English 
26414693 
BCI:BCI201600101400 
There is a high demand for in vitro models of the central nervous system (CNS) to study neurological disorders, injuries, toxicity, and drug efficacy. Three-dimensional (3D) in vitro models can bridge the gap between traditional two-dimensional culture and animal models because they present an in vivo-like microenvironment in a tailorable experimental platform. Within the expanding variety of sophisticated 3D cultures, scaffold-free, self-assembled spheroid culture avoids the introduction of foreign materials and preserves the native cell populations and extracellular matrix types. In this study, we generated 3D spheroids with primary postnatal rat cortical cells using an accessible, size-controlled, reproducible, and cost-effective method. Neurons and glia formed laminin-containing 3D networks within the spheroids. The neurons were electrically active and formed circuitry through both excitatory and inhibitory synapses. The mechanical properties of the spheroids were in the range of brain tissue. These in vivo-like features of 3D cortical spheroids provide the potential for relevant and translatable investigations of the CNS in vitro.