TY - JOUR
T1 - Morphological and functional behaviors of rat hepatocytes cultured on single-walled carbon nanotubes
AU - Koga, Haruka
AU - Fujigaya, Tsuyohiko
AU - Nakashima, Naotoshi
AU - Nakazawa, Kohji
N1 - Funding Information:
Acknowledgment This work was partly supported by the Nanotechnology Network Project implemented by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology (MEXT).
PY - 2011/9
Y1 - 2011/9
N2 - This study describes the morphological and functional behaviors of rat hepatocytes on single-walled carbon nanotube (CNT)-coated surfaces. Although the hydrophobic characteristics of CNT-coated surfaces increased with increasing CNT density, hepatocyte adhesion decreased, indicating that the interaction between hepatocytes and CNTs is weak. We found that hepatocytes on a CNT-coated surface gradually gather together and form spheroids (spherical multicellular aggregates). These spheroids exhibit compact spherical morphology with a smooth surface and express connexin-32, an intracellular communication molecule. In contrast, collagen treatment in conjunction with the CNT-coated surface improved hepatocyte adhesion, and the cells maintained a monolayer configuration throughout the culture period. The albumin secretion and ammonia removal activities of hepatocyte spheroids were maintained at elevated levels for at least 15 days of culturing as compared with hepatocyte monolayers. These results indicate that CNTs can be used for the formation and long-term culture of hepatocyte spheroids.
AB - This study describes the morphological and functional behaviors of rat hepatocytes on single-walled carbon nanotube (CNT)-coated surfaces. Although the hydrophobic characteristics of CNT-coated surfaces increased with increasing CNT density, hepatocyte adhesion decreased, indicating that the interaction between hepatocytes and CNTs is weak. We found that hepatocytes on a CNT-coated surface gradually gather together and form spheroids (spherical multicellular aggregates). These spheroids exhibit compact spherical morphology with a smooth surface and express connexin-32, an intracellular communication molecule. In contrast, collagen treatment in conjunction with the CNT-coated surface improved hepatocyte adhesion, and the cells maintained a monolayer configuration throughout the culture period. The albumin secretion and ammonia removal activities of hepatocyte spheroids were maintained at elevated levels for at least 15 days of culturing as compared with hepatocyte monolayers. These results indicate that CNTs can be used for the formation and long-term culture of hepatocyte spheroids.
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U2 - 10.1007/s10856-011-4394-4
DO - 10.1007/s10856-011-4394-4
M3 - Article
C2 - 21769625
AN - SCOPUS:80755133489
VL - 22
SP - 2071
EP - 2078
JO - Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics
JF - Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics
SN - 0957-4522
IS - 9
ER -