tebu-bio is proud to officially announce a new partnership with Xylyx Bio, for the distribution in Europe of their innovative Tissue Specific Extra Cellular Matrix (ECMs) for 2D and 3D cell culture.
Development of more precise and efficient drugs goes through the development of research models as close as possible to the human body and human physiology. To reach this goal, researchers are continuously improving cell culture solutions and techniques. In terms of tools, many Extra Cellular Matrix (ECM) substrates have been developed to improve cell culture, but until now none of them provide a full physiological environment and, as we well know for physiological models: The Cell Environment Matters.
Based on these observations, Xylyx Bio decided to produce Tissue Specific ECMs, bringing to cell culture (2D or 3D cell culture) the native in-vivo microenvironment to become significantly more physiologic and predictive to human physiology in-vitro.
Derived from healthy, non tumour associated tissues with regional specificity, these new ECMs contain many crucial components (complex ratio of collagens, laminins, glycoproteins, proteoglycans, proteins, growth factors…) for more physiological and relevant culture.
This specific composition provided by Xylyx Bio ECMs many benefits in comparison to non tissue-specific ECMs :
- Natural regulation of growth and proliferation
- Physiological gene expression and Phenotype
- Better cell attachment
- Prolonged tissue/organoid culture
To cover a broad range of cell culture applications, Xylyx Bio have developed three different categories of tissue specific ECMs.
2D cell culture
NativeCoat ECM Surface Coating:
Derived from swine or human tissues, NativeCoat ECM Surface coating is rich in ECM components, including cell-specific adhesion, signaling molecules and growth factors, to support more in-vivo like cell phenotypes in 2D.
NativeCoat ECM Surface coating provides a physiologically relevant microenvironment, allowing for better attachment, viability (fig.1) and functionnality of cells in-vitro.
Xylyx Bio have developped this NativeCoat ECM for your 2D cell culture, from more than 10 differentes tissus origins. Don’t hesitate to check the full list of ECM availalable on tebu-bio’s web site. Thanks to the broad range of NativeCoat ECM Surface Coating available, many applications with cells from different tissues can be performed, such as:
- NativeCoatTM Liver ECM Surface Coatings – It has supported primary liver sinusoidal endothelial cell survival and regulation of natural cell growth on a liver-on-a-chip system showing unique liver-specific signatures and consistent protein profiles.
- NativeCoatTM Lung ECM Surface Coatings – Robust expression of normal lung epithelial cell gene and cell marker expression
3D cell culture
3D ECM Hydrogels :
With the TissueSpec ECM Hydrogel, Xylyx Bio, provide a soft medium to all your 3D cell culture. Derived from swine tissues, it represent a soft, viscoelastic and physiologically-relevant substrate for 3D cell culture, by enhancing cell attachement and supporting normal cell growth and function.
As shown figure 2, the tissue specificity of this Hydrogel allow an enhancement in the activity of Hepatocytes in comparison to culturing in classical ECMs subtrates. The TissueSpec hydrogel is also available for Bone, Heart, Intestine, Kidney, Lung and Skin (full list on tebu-bio web site), with a possibility of many different experiments by tissue type:
- Liver : TissueSpec® Liver ECM Hydrogels
- Culture of primary human hepatocytes showing native physiological function (expression of low-density lipoprotein receptor and uptake, secretion of fibrinogen).
- Culture of HepG2 (heptaocarcinoma) cells showing enhanced cytochrome P450 activity and glycogen storage.
- Lung: TissueSpec® Lung ECM Hydrogels – Culture of primary normal human bronchial epithelial (NHBE) cells showing formation of organized, stratified luminal structures recapitulating the cellular architecture of the human airway and complex and organized morphology, and supporting robust expression of cell markers and subpopulation of p63+ basal airway cells.
- Intestine: TissueSpec® Intestine ECM Hydrogels – Used to culture iPSC-derived human intestine organoids showing native in vivo-like morphology (budding, luminal structures) in vitro.
TissueSpec ECM Scaffolds:
Produced from swine or human tissue, the custom TissueSpec ECM Scaffold will provide the integral tissue structure, architecture and composition cues of the endogenous tissue microenvironment to your 3D cell culture. As a custom product, the TissueSpec ECM Scaffolds can be isolated from specific regions within the tissue of interest.
With this TissueSpec® ECM Scaffolds, cells migrate, attach, and integrate into scaffolds to form 3D constructs while recapitulating their native phenotype, morphology (fig.3), and gene expression. This solution can be used for many applications in 3D cell culture, drug discovery, and tissue engineering as mentioned below:
- TissueSpec® Kidney ECM Scaffolds – Has already been used to recapitulate native region-specific renal structures and guide kidney stem cells to generate 3D glomerular and tubular structures in vitro.
- TissueSpec® Liver ECM Scaffolds – Has been shown to provide liver cells with the 3D structure and biochemical environment of the native liver.
Thanks to these new tissue specific ECMs, which is the broadest offer in terms of products and tissue origins, researchers will be able to develop more physiologic and predictive models, for a wide range of research fields and applications:
- 2D Cell Culture (Coating – Cell Migration and Invasion Assays – co-culturing /Transwell)
- 3D cell culture (Organoid/Spheroid Cell Culture)
- 3D Bioprinting
- ADME-Tox
- Disease Modeling (Cancer/Tumor Models)
- Drug Discovery, Screening (High-Throughput Screening)
- Microfluidics (Organs-on-a-chips)
- Stem Cell Research (iPSC Differentiation, Transcriptomic/Genomic Responses)
- Tissue Engineering
As specialist in ECM production, Xylyx Bio can also isolate matrix from diseased tissues, allowing you to develop more accurate in-vitro human disease models.
Finally, with these new tissue specific ECMs, Xylyx Bio provide innovative solutions, allowing researchers to develop more physiological, predictive and accurate research models in comparison to classical ECM, but not only.
Indeed researchers from Xylyx Bio have worked hard to maximally decrease lot-to-lot variability, and provide constistency in the composition profile of their different ECM lots, resulting in standardized experiments and better reproducibility in all your different experiments.
Interested in developing more physiologically relevant 2D and 3D research models?
Download the Xylyx Bio Tissue Specific ECM brochure, or contact your local tebu-bio office for more information.
