3D Spheroid Cultures for Salivary Gland Tissue Engineering: Effects of Fibroblast on Epithelial Cell Function

3D Spheroid Cultures for Salivary Gland Tissue Engineering: Effects of Fibroblast on Epithelial Cell Function

Blog Article

Three-dimensional (3D) spheroid cultures are crucial for modeling salivary gland (SG) morphogenesis and advancing regenerative medicine.This study evaluated the effects of varying ratios of mouse SG-derived epithelial cells co-cultured with human dermal fibroblasts (hDFs), identifying a 2:1 ratio (spheroids containing 67% EpCAMpos cells with 33% hDFs) as LED Smart Box optimal for preserving native SG-derived epithelial cell phenotypes.At this ratio, 67% EpCAMpos spheroids maintained structural integrity and demonstrated a significant reduction in apoptosis and senescence markers, specifically, cleaved caspase-3 (Cc3) and Serpine1, alongside an enhanced expression of the progenitor marker Keratin Lights (Led) 5 (KRT5).This highlights the pivotal role of fibroblasts in supporting epithelial cell function in 3D cultures.

These spheroids provide a useful model for developing SG tissues that closely mimic physiological properties.Despite promising results, these findings are preliminary and require further validation under diverse conditions and across different SG models.