The communication between nonmyogenic cells, such as macrophages and fibroblasts, and myoblasts is crucial for successful skeletal muscle repair. In vitro co-culture methods can be used to increase our understanding of these cellular interactions; however, current protocols are restricted to two, often physically separate, cell populations. Here, we demonstrate a novel, inexpensive in vitro tri...

INTRODUCTION Previous studies highlight a complex relationship between lineage and phenotype for adipose tissue macrophages (ATMs), adipose stem cells (ASCs), and adipocytes, suggesting a high degree of plasticity of these cells. In the present study, using a novel co-culture system, we further characterized the interaction between ATMs, ASCs and adipocytes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Human ...

When parenchymal hepatocytes isolated from adult liver are co-cultured with other epithelial cells, the production of various plasma proteins by the hepatocytes is preserved for much longer than in conventional culture. This study examines some of the metabolic interactions between parenchymal hepatocytes and epithelial cells maintained in co-culture. The leakage of lactate dehydrogenase by hep...

OBJECTIVE To imitate the in vivo joint situation and to allow cell interactions, a co-culture system of human osteoarthritic chondrocytes and synovial fibroblasts from a single joint was established and characterized with or without stimulation by IL-1 beta. METHODS Culture settings included chondrocytes in alginate alone, synovial fibroblasts in monolayer alone and a co-culture of both. Prot...

Background: Cell-based treatment approach using differentiated mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and mature chondrocytes has been considered as an advanced treatment for cartilage repair. We investigated the differentiated level of these two cell types that is crucial for their repair capacity for cartilage defect at a co-culture micro mass system. Methods: Passaged-2 MSCs isolated from the mouse b...