Neuroinflammation is a common feature in various neurological disorders. Understanding neuroinflammation and neuro-immune interactions is of significant importance. However, the intercellular interactions in the inflammatory model are intricate. Microfluidic chips, with their complex micrometer-scale structures and real-time observation capabilities, offer unique advantages in tackling these complexities compared to other techniques. In this study, microfluidic chip technology was used to construct a microarray physical barrier structure with 15 μm spacing, providing well-defined cell growth areas and clearly delineated interaction channels. Moreover, an innovative hydrophilic treatment process on the glass surface facilitated long-term co-culture of cells. The developed neuroinflammation model on the chip revealed that SH-SY5Y cytotoxicity was predominantly influenced by co-cultured THP-1 cells. The co-culture model fostered complex interactions that may exacerbate cytotoxicity, including irregular morphological changes of cells, cell viability reduction, THP-1 cell migration, and the release of inflammatory factors. The integration of the combinatorial cell–cell interaction chip not only offers a clear imaging detection platform but also provides diverse data on cell migration distance, migration direction, and migration angle. Furthermore, the designed ample space for cell culture, along with microscale channels with fluid characteristics, allow for the study of inflammatory factor distribution patterns on the chip, offering vital theoretical data on biological relevance that conventional experiments cannot achieve. The fabricated user-friendly, reusable, and durable co-culture chip serves as a valuable in vitro tool, providing an intuitive platform for gaining insights into the complex mechanisms underlying neuroinflammation and other interacting models.

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新型组合细胞-细胞相互作用芯片上的神经炎症反应

神经炎症是各种神经系统疾病的共同特征。了解神经炎症和神经免疫相互作用具有重要意义。然而，炎症模型中的细胞间相互作用是复杂的。与其他技术相比，微流控芯片具有复杂的微米级结构和实时观察能力，在解决这些复杂性方面具有独特的优势。在这项研究中，微流控芯片技术被用来构建间距为15微米的微阵列物理屏障结构，提供明确的细胞生长区域和清晰描绘的相互作用通道。此外，玻璃表面创新的亲水处理工艺有利于细胞的长期共培养。芯片上开发的神经炎症模型表明，SH-SY5Y 细胞毒性主要受到共培养 THP-1 细胞的影响。共培养模型促进了复杂的相互作用，可能会加剧细胞毒性，包括细胞的不规则形态变化、细胞活力降低、THP-1细胞迁移和炎症因子的释放。组合细胞-细胞相互作用芯片的集成不仅提供了清晰的成像检测平台，还提供了细胞迁移距离、迁移方向和迁移角度的多样化数据。此外，设计的充足的细胞培养空间以及具有流体特性的微通道可以研究芯片上的炎症因子分布模式，提供传统实验无法实现的生物学相关性的重要理论数据。所制造的用户友好、可重复使用且耐用的共培养芯片是一种有价值的体外工具，为深入了解神经炎症和其他相互作用模型的复杂机制提供了一个直观的平台。