Life, Vol. 15, Pages 607: 3D Spheroid Cultures for Salivary Gland Tissue Engineering: Effects of Fibroblast on Epithelial Cell Function

Life doi: 10.3390/life15040607

Authors:
Lan Thi Phuong Nguyen
Joo Hyun Kim
Jiwon Son
Sung Sik Hur
Minyong Lee
Hyung Kwon Byeon
Jin-Young Kim
Myung Jin Ban
Joo Hyun Kim
Man Ryul Lee
Jae Hong Park
Yongsung Hwang

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 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 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.

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Lan Thi Phuong Nguyen www.mdpi.com