Fig. 24.
a Hepatocyte polarization in 2D and 3D collagen gel. In the collagen “sandwich” gel, hepatocytes assume a typical polar structure, with multiple basolateral and apical compartments. The basolateral sides face the collagen layers and the apical sides face the bile canaliculi. By contrast, hepatocytes on collagen monolayers are flattened and form actin stress fibers. Adapted from (Dunn et al. 1991). b Formation of canaliculi in micropatterned sandwich culture. The hepatocytes are cultured in micromolded collagen pits of increasing diameters. Following 2 days in culture, the hepatocytes have formed a canalicular network (green staining). The canalicular network appears more organized in the pits than in a conventional non-patterned sandwich culture. A pit diameter of 80–100 µm is optimal for canaliculi formation. Scale bar 100 µm (from Matsui et al. 2012)