Carl Hansen

High-throughput analysis of single hematopoietic stem cell proliferation in microfluidic cell culture arrays

Heterogeneity in cell populations poses a major obstacle to understanding complex biological processes. Here we present a microfluidic platform containing thousands of nanoliter-scale chambers suitable for live-cell imaging studies of clonal cultures of nonadherent cells with precise control of the conditions, capabilities for in situ immunostaining and recovery of viable cells. We show that this platform mimics conventional cultures in reproducing the responses of various types of primitive mouse hematopoietic cells with retention of their functional properties, as demonstrated by subsequent in vitro and in vivo (transplantation) assays of recovered cells. The automated medium exchange of this system made it possible to define when Steel factor stimulation is first required by adult hematopoietic stem cells in vitro as the point of exit from quiescence. This technology will offer many new avenues to interrogate otherwise inaccessible mechanisms governing mammalian cell growth and fate decisions.

In-depth characterization of the microRNA transcriptome in a leukemia progression model

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have been shown to play important roles in physiological as well as multiple malignant processes, including acute myeloid leukemia (AML). In an effort to gain further insight into the role of miRNAs in AML, we have applied the Illumina massively parallel sequencing platform to carry out an in-depth analysis of the miRNA transcriptome in a murine leukemia progression model. This model simulates the stepwise conversion of a myeloid progenitor cell by an engineered overexpression of the nucleoporin 98 (NUP98)-homeobox HOXD13 fusion gene (ND13), to aggressive AML inducing cells upon transduction with the oncogenic collaborator Meis1. From this data set, we identified 307 miRNA/miRNA species in the ND13 cells and 306 miRNA/miRNA species in ND13+Meis1 cells, corresponding to 223 and 219 miRNA genes. Sequence counts varied between two and 136,558, indicating a remarkable expression range between the detected miRNA species. The large number of miRNAs expressed and the nature of differential expression suggest that leukemic progression as modeled here is dictated by the repertoire of shared, but differentially expressed miRNAs. Our finding of extensive sequence variations (isomiRs) for almost all miRNA and miRNA species adds additional complexity to the miRNA transcriptome. A stringent target prediction analysis coupled with in vitro target validation revealed the potential for miRNA-mediated release of oncogenes that facilitates leukemic progression from the preleukemic to leukemia inducing state. Finally, 55 novel miRNAs species were identified in our data set, adding further complexity to the emerging world of small RNAs.

Microfluidic single cell analysis: from promise to practice.

Methods for single-cell analysis are critical to revealing cell-to-cell variability in biological systems, especially in cases where relevant minority cell populations can be obscured by population-averaged measurements. However, to date single cell studies have been limited by the cost and throughput required to examine large numbers of cells and the difficulties associated with analyzing small amounts of starting material. Microfluidic approaches are well suited to resolving these issues by providing increased senstitivity, economy of scale, and automation. After many years of development microfluidic systems are now finding traction in a variety of single-cell analytics including gene expression measurements, protein analysis, signaling response, and growth dynamics. With newly developed tools now being applied in fields ranging from human haplotyping and drug discovery to stem cell and cancer research, the long-heralded promise of microfluidic single cell analysis is now finally being realized.

Bottom-Up Design and Synthesis of Limit Size Lipid Nanoparticle Systems with Aqueous and Triglyceride Cores Using Millisecond Microfluidic Mixing

Limit size systems are defined as the smallest achievable aggregates compatible with the packing of the molecular constituents in a defined and energetically stable structure. Here we report the use of rapid microfluidic mixing for the controlled synthesis of two types of limit size lipid nanoparticle (LNP) systems, having either polar or nonpolar cores. Specifically, limit size LNP consisting of 1-palmitoyl, 2-oleoyl phosphatidylcholine (POPC), cholesterol and the triglyceride triolein were synthesized by mixing a stream of ethanol containing dissolved lipid with an aqueous stream, employing a staggered herringbone micromixer. Millisecond mixing of aqueous and ethanol streams at high flow rate ratios (FRR) was used to rapidly increase the polarity of the medium, driving bottom-up synthesis of limit size LNP systems by spontaneous assembly. For POPC/triolein systems the limit size structures consisted of a hydrophobic core of triolein surrounded by a monolayer of POPC where the diameter could be rationally engineered over the range 20-80 nm by varying the POPC/triolein ratio. In the case of POPC and POPC/cholesterol (55/45; mol/mol) the limit size systems achieved were bilayer vesicles of approximately 20 and 40 nm diameter, respectively. We further show that doxorubicin, a representative weak base drug, can be efficiently loaded and retained in limit size POPC LNP, establishing potential utility as drug delivery systems. To our knowledge this is the first report of stable triglyceride emulsions in the 20-50 nm size range, and the first time vesicular systems in the 20-50 nm size range have been generated by a scalable manufacturing method. These results establish microfluidic mixing as a powerful and general approach to access novel LNP systems, with both polar or nonpolar core structures, in the sub-100 nm size range.

Dynamic analysis of MAPK signaling using a high-throughput microfluidic single-cell imaging platform.

Cells have evolved biomolecular networks that process and respond to changing chemical environments. Understanding how complex protein interactions give rise to emergent network properties requires time-resolved analysis of cellular response under a large number of genetic perturbations and chemical environments. To date, the lack of technologies for scalable cell analysis under well-controlled and time-varying conditions has made such global studies either impossible or impractical. To address this need, we have developed a high-throughput microfluidic imaging platform for single-cell studies of network response under hundreds of combined genetic perturbations and time-varying stimulant sequences. Our platform combines programmable on-chip mixing and perfusion with high-throughput image acquisition and processing to perform 256 simultaneous time-lapse live-cell imaging experiments. Nonadherent cells are captured in an array of 2,048 microfluidic cell traps to allow for the imaging of eight different genotypes over 12 h and in response to 32 unique sequences of stimulation, generating a total of 49,000 images per run. Using 12 devices, we carried out >3,000 live-cell imaging experiments to investigate the mating pheromone response in Saccharomyces cerevisiae under combined genetic perturbations and changing environmental conditions. Comprehensive analysis of 11 deletion mutants reveals both distinct thresholds for morphological switching and new dynamic phenotypes that are not observed in static conditions. For example, kss1Δ, fus3Δ, msg5Δ, and ptp2Δ mutants exhibit distinctive stimulus-frequency-dependent signaling phenotypes, implicating their role in filtering and network memory. The combination of parallel microfluidic control with high-throughput imaging provides a powerful tool for systems-level studies of single-cell decision making.

The rate of cell growth is governed by cell cycle stage

Cell growth is an essential requirement for cell cycle progression. While it is often held that growth is independent of cell cycle position, this relationship has not been closely scrutinized. Here we show that in budding yeast, the ability of cells to grow changes during the cell cycle. We find that cell growth is faster in cells arrested in anaphase and G1 than in other cell cycle stages. We demonstrate that the establishment of a polarized actin cytoskeleton-either as a consequence of normal cell division or through activation of the mating pheromone response-potently attenuates protein synthesis and growth. We furthermore show by population and single-cell analysis that growth varies during an unperturbed cell cycle, slowing at the time of polarized growth. Our study uncovers a fundamental relationship whereby cell cycle position regulates growth.

Microfluidic measurement of antibody-antigen binding kinetics from low-abundance samples and single cells.

We present a simple microfluidic fluorescence bead assay for accurately measuring antibody-antigen binding kinetics with a standard inverted fluorescent microscope. We measured association and dissociation rate constants from antibody-antigen interactions spanning nearly 4 orders of magnitude in equilibrium binding affinity (30 pM-100 nM). Two versions of this assay are presented, which allow for dissociation rate measurements either directly, by use of fluorescently labeled antigen, or indirectly, by use of unlabeled antigen. We also demonstrate simultaneous, multiplexed binding measurements of multiple antibody-antigen interactions using a combination of spectral separation and spatial localization. Complete antibody-antigen binding kinetics were measured for as little as 8 × 10⁴ antibody molecules (~132 zeptomoles) immobilized on a single bead and less than 2 × 10⁶ antibodies (~3 attomoles) loaded into the microfluidic device, a reduction in detection limit and sample consumption of 4 orders of magnitude when compared to surface plasmon resonance (SPR) spectroscopy and alternative measurement techniques. We show that the microfluidic bead assay, when combined with small volume compartmentalization, enables direct measurement of antigen binding kinetics of antibodies secreted from single hybridoma cells. We anticipate that this assay will be useful as a routine analytical tool for studying molecular interactions as well as for screening primary antibody-secreting plasma cells isolated from immunized animals.

Dissecting genealogy and cell cycle as sources of cell-to-cell variability in MAPK signaling using high-throughput lineage tracking

Cells, even those having identical genotype, exhibit variability in their response to external stimuli. This variability arises from differences in the abundance, localization, and state of cellular components. Such nongenetic differences are likely heritable between successive generations and can also be influenced by processes such as cell cycle, age, or interplay between different pathways. To address the contribution of nongenetic heritability and cell cycle in cell-to-cell variability we developed a high-throughput and fully automated microfluidic platform that allows for concurrent measurement of gene expression, cell-cycle periods, age, and lineage information under a large number of temporally changing medium conditions and using multiple strains. We apply this technology to examine the role of nongenetic inheritance in cell heterogeneity of yeast pheromone signaling. Our data demonstrate that the capacity to respond to pheromone is passed across generations and that the strength of the response correlations between related cells is affected by perturbations in the signaling pathway. We observe that a ste50Δ mutant strain exhibits highly heterogeneous response to pheromone originating from a unique asymmetry between mother and daughter response. On the other hand, fus3Δ cells were found to exhibit an unusually high correlation between mother and daughter cells that arose from a combination of extended cell-cycle periods of fus3Δ mothers, and decreased cell-cycle modulation of the pheromone pathway. Our results contribute to the understanding of the origins of cell heterogeneity and demonstrate the importance of automated platforms that generate single-cell data on several parameters.

Sub-nanoliter nuclear magnetic resonance coils fabricated with multilayer soft lithography

We describe the fabrication and characterization of sub-nanoliter volume nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) transceiver coils that are easily amenable to integration within PDMS-based microfluidics. NMR coils were constructed by the injection of liquid metal into solenoidal cavities created around a microchannel using consecutive replica molding and bonding of PDMS layers. This construction technique permits the integration of NMR coils with solenoidal, toroidal or other three-dimensional geometries within highly integrated microfluidic systems and are one step toward NMR-based chemical screening and analysis on chip. The current proof-of-principle implementation displays limited sensitivity and resolution due to the conductivity and magnetic susceptibilities of the construction materials. However, NMR measurements and finite-element simulations made with the current device geometry indicate that optimization of these materials will allow for the collection of spectra from sub-millimolar concentration samples in less than 1 nL of solution.

Robust high-performance nanoliter-volume single-cell multiple displacement amplification on planar substrates

Significance The study of cell-to-cell genomic differences in complex multicellular systems such as cancer requires genome sequencing of large numbers of single cells. This in turn necessitates the uniform amplification of single-cell genomes with high reproducibility across large numbers of cells, which remains an outstanding challenge. Here, we introduce a method that uses commercially available liquid dispensing to perform inexpensive and high-throughput single-cell whole genome amplification (WGA) in nanoliter volumes. For the first time, to our knowledge, we demonstrate robust and highly uniform nanoliter-volume single-cell WGA across a large replicate set consisting of more than 100 single cells. Comparison with previous datasets shows that this method improves uniformity and achieves levels of genome coverage and genomic variant detection comparable or superior to existing methods. The genomes of large numbers of single cells must be sequenced to further understanding of the biological significance of genomic heterogeneity in complex systems. Whole genome amplification (WGA) of single cells is generally the first step in such studies, but is prone to nonuniformity that can compromise genomic measurement accuracy. Despite recent advances, robust performance in high-throughput single-cell WGA remains elusive. Here, we introduce droplet multiple displacement amplification (MDA), a method that uses commercially available liquid dispensing to perform high-throughput single-cell MDA in nanoliter volumes. The performance of droplet MDA is characterized using a large dataset of 129 normal diploid cells, and is shown to exceed previously reported single-cell WGA methods in amplification uniformity, genome coverage, and/or robustness. We achieve up to 80% coverage of a single-cell genome at 5× sequencing depth, and demonstrate excellent single-nucleotide variant (SNV) detection using targeted sequencing of droplet MDA product to achieve a median allelic dropout of 15%, and using whole genome sequencing to achieve false and true positive rates of 9.66 × 10−6 and 68.8%, respectively, in a G1-phase cell. We further show that droplet MDA allows for the detection of copy number variants (CNVs) as small as 30 kb in single cells of an ovarian cancer cell line and as small as 9 Mb in two high-grade serous ovarian cancer samples using only 0.02× depth. Droplet MDA provides an accessible and scalable method for performing robust and accurate CNV and SNV measurements on large numbers of single cells.