Analyzing the behavior of normoxic and hypoxic cells through the use of microfluidic devices

Current cellular exposure to atmospheric normoxic (21%) oxygen concentrations have been proven to be physiologically inaccurate since the human body only ranges between 1%-13% in the body. We wish to observe how human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) and human lung micro vascular endothelial cells (HLMVECs) interact with one another and their behavior when exposed to either hypoxic (defined as being less than normoxic) or atmospheric normoxic concentrations. The cells were grown and cultured on microfluidic devices - a relatively cheap and easily fabricated method of experimental testing that can lend itself to mass production and cellular analysis techniques. The analyses mainly focus on quantifying the amount of hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF-1) present in the cells - this factor is responsible for activating countless transcription factors within the cell. Overall, these methods and tests have provided evidence to the fact that hypoxic conditions increase cellular growth, migration, proliferation, and growth factor production by almost two times.