title: Three-Dimensional Neural Spheroid Culture: An In Vitro Model for Cortical Studies.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Molecular Pharmacology, Physiology, and Biotechnology, Brown University , Providence, Rhode Island.|2 Center for Biomedical Engineering, Brown University , Providence, Rhode Island.
authors.forename: Yu-Ting L
authors.initials: YT
authors.lastname: Dingle
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Molecular Pharmacology, Physiology, and Biotechnology, Brown University , Providence, Rhode Island.|2 Center for Biomedical Engineering, Brown University , Providence, Rhode Island.
authors.forename: Molly E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Boutin
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Molecular Pharmacology, Physiology, and Biotechnology, Brown University , Providence, Rhode Island.
authors.forename: Anda M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Chirila
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Molecular Pharmacology, Physiology, and Biotechnology, Brown University , Providence, Rhode Island.
authors.forename: Liane L
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Livi
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Molecular Pharmacology, Physiology, and Biotechnology, Brown University , Providence, Rhode Island.|2 Center for Biomedical Engineering, Brown University , Providence, Rhode Island.
authors.forename: Nicholas R
authors.initials: NR
authors.lastname: Labriola
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Molecular Pharmacology, Physiology, and Biotechnology, Brown University , Providence, Rhode Island.|2 Center for Biomedical Engineering, Brown University , Providence, Rhode Island.
authors.forename: Lorin M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Jakubek
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Molecular Pharmacology, Physiology, and Biotechnology, Brown University , Providence, Rhode Island.|2 Center for Biomedical Engineering, Brown University , Providence, Rhode Island.|3 School of Engineering, Brown University , Providence, Rhode Island.
authors.forename: Jeffrey R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Morgan
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Molecular Pharmacology, Physiology, and Biotechnology, Brown University , Providence, Rhode Island.|2 Center for Biomedical Engineering, Brown University , Providence, Rhode Island.|3 School of Engineering, Brown University , Providence, Rhode Island.|4 Department of Orthopedics, Brown University , Providence, Rhode Island.
authors.forename: Eric M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Darling
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Molecular Pharmacology, Physiology, and Biotechnology, Brown University , Providence, Rhode Island.|5 Department of Neuroscience, Brown University , Providence, Rhode Island.|6 Brown Institute for Brain Science, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island.
authors.forename: Julie A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Kauer
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Molecular Pharmacology, Physiology, and Biotechnology, Brown University , Providence, Rhode Island.|2 Center for Biomedical Engineering, Brown University , Providence, Rhode Island.|3 School of Engineering, Brown University , Providence, Rhode Island.|6 Brown Institute for Brain Science, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island.
authors.forename: Diane
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Hoffman-Kim
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D018929:Cell Culture Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D060833:Cellular Microenvironment; D009474:Neurons / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats; D018874:Spheroids, Cellular / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism*