Three dimensional vaginal tissue model containing immune cells

• US 20030228686A1
• Filed: 06/07/2002
• Published: 12/11/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 06/07/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: MatTek Corporation (BICO Group AB)
• Original Assignee: MatTek Corporation (BICO Group AB)
• Inventors: Kubilus, Joseph, Ayehunie, Seyoum, Klausner, Mitchell
• Granted Patent: US 6,943,021 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 435/366
• CPC Class Codes: C12N 2501/117 Keratinocyte growth factors (KGF-1, i.e. FGF-7; KGF-2, i.e. FGF-12)
• CPC Class Codes: C12N 2501/33 Insulin together with transferrin C12N2500/25; Insulin-like growth factors C12N2501/105
• CPC Class Codes: C12N 2501/385 of the family of the retinoic acid recptor, e.g. RAR, RXR; Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor [PPAR]
• CPC Class Codes: C12N 2501/39 Steroid hormones
• CPC Class Codes: C12N 2502/094 keratinocytes
• CPC Class Codes: C12N 2502/1114 T cells
• CPC Class Codes: C12N 2502/1121 Dendritic cells
• CPC Class Codes: C12N 2502/243 Cells of the female genital tract, non-germinal ovarian cells
• CPC Class Codes: C12N 2503/04 Screening or testing on artificial tissues
• CPC Class Codes: C12N 5/0697 Artificial constructs associating cells of different lineages, e.g. tissue equivalents blood vessels C12N5/0691

Abstract

Disclosed is a cervico-vaginal tissue equivalent comprised of vaginal epithelial cells and immune cells, cultured at the air-liquid interface. The tissue equivalent is capable of being infected with a sexually transmitted pathogen such as a virus (e.g., HIV), a bacteria, a helminthic parasite, or a fungus. The tissue equivalent is also capable of undergoing an allergic-type reaction or an irritant-type reaction. The tissue equivalent is characterized as having nucleated basal layer cells and nucleated suprabasal layer cells, and further as having cell layers external to the suprabasal layer progressively increasing in glycogen content and progressively decreasing in nuclei content. Immune cells of the tissue equivalent are primarily located in the basal and suprabasal layers. Also disclosed are methods for producing the tissue equivalent. The methods involve providing vaginal epithelial cells and immune cells, seeding the cells onto a porous support, and co culturing the seeded cells at the air-liquid interface under conditions appropriate for differentiation. One such method disclosed is for generation of the tissue equivalent in serum free medium. Specific cells from which the tissue equivalent is generated, and also specific preferred components of the medium in which the tissue equivalent is generated are provided. Also disclosed is a cervico-vaginal tissue equivalent produced by the methods disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A cervico-vaginal tissue equivalent comprised of vaginal epithelial cells, and immune cells, cultured at the air-liquid interface.

2. The cervico-vaginal tissue equivalent of claim 1 which further comprises a support on which it is cultured.

3. The cervico-vaginal tissue equivalent of claim 1 which is capable of being infected with a sexually transmitted pathogen selected from the group consisting of a virus, a bacteria, a helminthic parasite, and a fungus.

4. The cervico-vaginal tissue equivalent of claim 3 wherein the sexually transmitted pathogen is HIV.

5. The cervico-vaginal tissue equivalent of claim 1 which is capable of undergoing an allergic-type reaction or an irritant-type reaction.

6. The cervico-vaginal tissue equivalent of claim 1 which is generated in serum free medium.

7. The cervico-vaginal tissue equivalent of claim 1 wherein the vaginal epithelial cells, the immune cells, or both, are of human origin.

8. The cervico-vaginal tissue equivalent of claim 1 wherein the vaginal epithelial cells, the immune cells, or both, are selected from the group consisting of primary cells, passaged primary cells, transformed cells, and immortalized cells.

9. The cervico-vaginal tissue equivalent of claim 8 wherein the primary or passaged primary vaginal epithelial cells are derived from tissue selected from the group consisting of normal human ectocervical tissue, normal human endocervical tissue, pathological human ectocervical tissue, and pathological human endocervical tissue.

10. The cervico-vaginal tissue equivalent of claim 1 wherein the immune cells comprise Langerhans cells, Langerhans precursor cells (CD34+), monocytes (CD14+), immature dendritic cells (CD1a+, CD4+), mature dendritic cells (CD86+, HLA-DR++), T cells (CD3+), macrophages, or any combination thereof.

11. The cervico-vaginal tissue equivalent of claim 1 wherein the immune cells are generated in vitro from Langerhans precursor cells or monocytes.

12. The cervico-vaginal tissue equivalent of claim 2 wherein the support is selected from the group consisting of an artificial membrane, an extracellular matrix component, a collagen mixture, in vivo derived connective tissue, a mixed collagen-fibroblast lattice, mixed extracellular matrix-fibroblast lattice, and plastic.

13. The cervico-vaginal tissue equivalent of claim 12 wherein the mixed collagen-fibroblast lattice is comprised of vaginal fibroblasts.

14. The cervico-vaginal tissue equivalent of claim 13 wherein the mixed collagen-fibroblast lattice is further comprised of T cells (CD3+).

15. The cervico-vaginal tissue equivalent of claim 1 wherein the immune cells express HLA-DR.

16. The cervico-vaginal tissue equivalent of claim 1 which is characterized as having nucleated basal layer cells and nucleated suprabasal layer cells.

17. The cervico-vaginal tissue equivalent of claim 16 which is characterized as having cell layers external to the suprabasal layer progressively increasing in glycogen content and progressively decreasing in nuclei content.

18. The cervico-vaginal tissue equivalent of claim 16 which is characterized as having immune cells primarily located in the basal and suprabasal layers.

19. A method for producing a cervico-vaginal tissue equivalent, comprising the steps:

providing vaginal epithelial cells and immune cells;

seeding the cells; and

co-culturing the seeded cells at the air-liquid interface under conditions appropriate for differentiation.

20. The method of claim 19 further comprising the step of co-cultivating the seeded cells submerged in growth medium under conditions appropriate for cell propagation, prior to the co-culturing step.

21. The method of claim 20 wherein the co-culturing step is in serum-free differentiation medium.

22. The method of claim 20 wherein the growth medium of the co-cultivating step is serum free growth medium.

23. The method of claim 19 further comprising the step of culturing the vaginal epithelial cells submerged in growth medium under conditions appropriate for cell propagation, prior to the seeding step.

24. The method of claim 19 further comprising the step of further seeding additional immune cells into the co-cultured seeded cells after the co-culturing step, and further co-culturing the seeded cells at the air liquid interface, under conditions appropriate for differentiation.

25. The method of claim 19 wherein the co-culturing step is in serum free differentiation medium.

26. The method of claim 19 wherein the vaginal epithelial cells or the immune cells, or both, of the providing step, are selected from the group consisting of primary cells, passaged primary cells, transformed cells, and immortalized cells.

27. The method of claim 26 wherein the primary or passaged primary vaginal epithelial cells of the providing step are derived from tissue selected from the group consisting of normal human ectocervical tissue, normal human endocervical tissue, pathological human ectocervical tissue, and pathological human endocervical tissue.

28. The method of claim 19 wherein the immune cells comprise Langerhans cells, Langerhans precursor cells (CD34+), monocytes (CD14+), immature dendritic cells (CD1a+, CD4+), mature dendritic cells (CD86+, HLA-DR++), T cells CD3+), macrophages, or any combination thereof.

29. The method of claim 19 further comprising the step of generating the immune cells for the providing step in vitro from harvested CD34+ cells, prior to the providing step.

30. The method of claim 29 wherein the step of generating the immune cells from harvested CD34+ cells, comprises the steps:

harvesting CD34+ cells from human umbilical cord blood, peripheral blood or bone marrow;

initially culturing the CD34+ cells in medium comprising 25 ng/ml stem cell factor, about 200 U/ml GM-CSF, and about 2.5 ng/ml TNF-α

, for a period of from about 1 to about 10 days; and

continuing culturing the CD34+ cells in medium comprising about 25 ng/ml stem cell factor, about 200 U/ml GM-CSF, about 40 ng/ml IL-4, and about 0.5 ng/ml TGF-β

1 for a period of from about 1 to about 17 days;

to thereby generate the immune cells.

31. The method of claim 30 wherein the period of the initially culturing step is about 7 to about 9 days.

32. The method of claim 30 wherein the period of the continuing culturing step is about 5 to about 10 days.

33. The method of claim 29 wherein the step of generating the immune cells from harvested CD34+ cells, comprises the steps:

harvesting CD34+ cells from human umbilical cord blood, peripheral blood or bone marrow;

initially culturing the CD34+ cells in serum free medium comprising about 20 ng/ml stem cell factor, about 500 U/ml GM-CSF, and about 2.5 ng/ml TNF-α

, for a period of at least about 4 days;

continuing culturing the CD34+ cells in serum free medium comprising about 20 ng/ml stem cell factor, about 500 U/ml GM-CSF, about 2.5 ng/ml TNF-α

, about 20 ng/ml FLT-3, and about 0.5 ng/ml TGF-β

1, for a period of at least about 5 days; and

further culturing the CD34+ cells in serum free medium comprising about 20 ng/ml stem cell factor, about 500 U/ml GM-CSF, about 40 ng/ml IL-4, about 20 ng/ml FLT-3, and about 0.5 ng/ml TGF-β

1, for a period of at least about 3 days;

to thereby generate the immune cells.

34. The method of claim 19 wherein the seeding step is on an underlying support selected from the group consisting of an artificial membrane, an extracellular matrix component, a collagen mixture, in vivo derived connective tissue, a mixed collagen-fibroblast lattice, mixed extracellular matrix-fibroblast lattice, and plastic.

35. The method of claim 34 wherein the mixed collagen-fibroblast lattice is comprised of vaginal fibroblasts.

36. The method of claim 35 wherein the mixed collagen-fibroblast lattice is further comprised of T cells (CD3+).

37. The method of claim 19 wherein the vaginal epithelial cells or the immune cells, or both, of the providing step, are of human origin.

38. The method of claim 19 wherein the immune cells of the providing step are generated from Langerhans precursor cells or monocytes.

39. The method of claim 19 further comprising isolating the immune cells for the providing step as immature or mature dendritic cells, prior to the providing step.

40. The method of claim 19 wherein the co-culturing step is in differentiation medium comprising a retinoid.

41. The method of claim 40 wherein the differentiation medium comprises between about 10⁻

5M and about 10<sup>−

13</sup>M of the retinoid.

42. The method of claim 41 wherein the retinoid is retinoic acid.

43. The method of claim 42 wherein the concentration of retinoic acid is about 5×

10<sup>−

10</sup> M.

44. The method of claim 43 wherein the differentiation medium is serum free medium, comprising:

a) about a 3;

1 ratio of DMEM;

F12; and

b) about 5×

10<sup>−

10</sup> M retinoic acid.

45. The method of claim 44 wherein the serum-free differentiation medium further comprises about 0.3 ng/ml keratinocyte growth factor, about 5 ng/ml EGF, about 0.4 μ

g/ml hydrocortisone, and about 5 μ

g/ml insulin.

46. The method of claim 19 wherein the co-culturing step is in differentiation medium comprising at least one component selected from the group consisting of adenine, α

-melanocyte stimulating hormone, arachidonic acid, β

-fibroblast growth factor, bovine pituitary extract, bovine serum albumin, calcium chloride, calf serum, carnitine, cholera toxin, dibutyl cyclic adenosine monophosphate, endothelin-1, epidermal growth factor, epinephrine, estradiol, estrogen, ethanolamine, fetal bovine serum, FLT-3, glucagon, granulocyte/macrophage-colony stimulating factor, hepatocyte growth factor, horse serum, human serum, hydrocortisone, insulin, insulin-like growth factor 1, insulin-like growth factor 2, interleukin-1β

, interleukin-3, interleukin-4, interleukin-6, interleukin-12, interleukin-18, iso-butyl methyl xanthine, isoproterenol, keratinocyte growth factor, linoleic acid, MIP-1α

, MIP-3α

, newborn calf serum, nor-epinephrine, oleic acid, palmitic acid, phosphoethanolamine, progesterone, stem cell factor, transferrin, transforming growth factor-β

1, triidothyronine, tumor necrosis factor a, vitamin A, vitamin B12, vitamin C, vitamin D, and vitamin E.

47. The method of claim 19 wherein from about 1×

10³ to about 1×

10⁷ cells/cm² of each cell type are seeded in the seeding step.

48. The method of claim 47 wherein from about 1×

10⁵ to about 1×

10⁶ cells/cm² of each cell type are seeded in the seeding step.

49. The method of claim 19 wherein the seeding step is at a ratio of about 1:

1 vaginal epithelial cells to immune cells.

50. The method of claim 19 wherein the seeding step is at a ratio of between about 1:

1 and 10,000;

1 vaginal epithelial cells to immune cells, and the co-culturing step is in serum-free medium supplemented with additives which increase viability or induce proliferation of the immune cells.

51. The method of claim 50 wherein the ratio is from about 20:

1 to about 50;

1 vaginal epithelial cells to immune cells.

52. A cervico-vaginal tissue equivalent produced by a method, comprising the steps:

providing vaginal epithelial cells and immune cells;

seeding the cells; and

co-culturing the seeded cells at the air-liquid interface under conditions appropriate for differentiation.

53. The cervico-vaginal tissue equivalent of claim 52 wherein the method further comprises the step of co-cultivating the seeded cells submerged in growth medium under conditions appropriate for cell propagation, prior to the co-culturing step.