Cell culture articles within Nature Communications

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  • Article
    | Open Access

    The placenta is a transient organ that regulates the fetal environment, but our understanding of placental barrier function has been hampered by the lack of in vitro models. Here they develop human placental organoids that resemble the placental villus and form an intact syncytiotrophoblast barrier when cultured in a column model.

    • Takeshi Hori
    • , Hiroaki Okae
    •  & Hirokazu Kaji

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Elucidating specific effects of protein kinase Akt isoforms remains challenging. Here, the authors establish an Akt isoform-dependent cellular model system and use it, together with X-ray crystallography and structure-based ligand design, to develop isoform-selective covalent-allosteric Akt inhibitors

    • Lena Quambusch
    • , Laura Depta
    •  & Daniel Rauh

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Personalised medicine requires cell cultures from defined genetic backgrounds, but providing sufficient numbers of cells is a challenge. Here the authors develop gene cocktails to expand primary cells from a variety of different tissues and species, and show that expanded endothelial and hepatic cells retain properties of the differentiated phenotype.

    • Christoph Lipps
    • , Franziska Klein
    •  & Tobias May

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) have potential for regenerative medicine applications, but are generated with very low efficiency. Here, the authors show highly efficient reprogramming of human primary fibroblasts to iPSCs via the synergistic activity of synthetic modified mRNAs, mature miRNA mimics, and optimized culture methods.

    • Igor Kogut
    • , Sandra M. McCarthy
    •  & Ganna Bilousova

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Little is known about how geometric cues affect cell function and gene expression in 3D settings. Here the authors use microniches of different geometries to control cell volume and shape, and by extension cell phenotype and lineage.

    • Min Bao
    • , Jing Xie
    •  & Wilhelm T. S. Huck

  • Article
    | Open Access

    3D cell culture is more relevant than the two-dimensional format, but methods for parallel analysis and temporal regulation of the microenvironment are limited. Here the authors develop a droplet microfluidics system to perform long-term culture of 3D spheroids, enabling multiscale cytometry of individual cells within the spheroid.

    • Sébastien Sart
    • , Raphaël F.-X. Tomasi
    •  & Charles N. Baroud

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Despite methodological improvements, it remains extremely difficult to routinely establish cell lines from human primary tumours. Here, the authors develop a culture medium that allows efficient cell line establishment and use this to generate 25 ovarian cancer cell lines.

    • Tan A. Ince
    • , Aurea D. Sousa
    •  & Gordon B. Mills

  • Article |

    The ciliary margin of the eye functions as a source of multipotent progenitor cells in certain organisms but whether it plays this role in humans has not been easy to study. Here the authors culture human embryonic stem cells that self-organize into retinal tissue, and show that ciliary margin-like growth zones emerge from the developing human retinal tissue and contain stem cell niches.

    • Atsushi Kuwahara
    • , Chikafumi Ozone
    •  & Yoshiki Sasai

  • Article |

    Tumour microenvironment affects the outcome of pharmacological anticancer treatments. Here, Kenny et al. show that organotypic cultures of ovarian cancer cells can recapitulate metastasis. They identify several new compounds that block cancer invasion and metastasis and improve survival in mouse models.

    • Hilary A. Kenny
    • , Madhu Lal-Nag
    •  & Ernst Lengyel

  • Article |

    The assessment of nanomaterial toxicity can be hampered by difficulties in determining cell dosage. Here, the authors present a simple method for determination of nanomaterial agglomerate density in liquid media, enabling accurate calculation of dose delivered to cells in an in vitrosystem.

    • Glen DeLoid
    • , Joel M. Cohen
    •  & Philip Demokritou

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Laminin-511 and its cell-binding domain support long-term self-renewal of human pluripotent stem cells in xeno-free culture conditions. Here the authors show that a xeno-free culture matrix consisting of a full-length laminin-521 and the cell–cell adhesion protein E-cadherin supports clonal expansion of human embryonic stem cells.

    • Sergey Rodin
    • , Liselotte Antonsson
    •  & Karl Tryggvason

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The use of animal products as culture substrates for human embryonic stem cell and induced pluripotent stem cell culture raises numerous safety concerns in a therapeutic setting. Miyazaki et al.. show that minimal fragments of human laminins provide a more effective support for the culture of these cell types.

    • Takamichi Miyazaki
    • , Sugiko Futaki
    •  & Eihachiro Kawase

  • Article |

    Species coexistence can be explained by the competition–colonization trade-off theory. Here, Livingston et al. illustrate this theory in a metacommunity experiment using two bacterial strains, finding a negative correlation between diversity and productivity when scaled to full metacommunities.

    • George Livingston
    • , Miguel Matias
    •  & Nicolas Mouquet

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