Studying Multicellular Dynamics with Single-cell Micropattern Clusters

Abstract

Physical cues are known to affect cell behavior in multi-cellular systems. We hypothesized that the size, shape and arrangement of individual cells in close proximity would regulate cell rearrangement and epithelial void closure and are force-mediated. By focusing down to physical cues exerted on single cells, physical principles governing the dynamical behavior of these multi-cellular systems may be revealed. To achieve this, simple clusters of micropatterns that can accommodate a small but fixed number of cells were designed. Using these micropattern clusters, simple cell model systems were engineered to study how the physical parameters of individual cells can affect (1) the rearrangement of geometrically constrained cell clusters and (2) actomyosin-mediated contraction dynamics in a cellular ring. To facilitate the efficient use of these micropattern clusters in experiments, a novel microfluidic platform containing an array of sieve-like cell traps was also developed for controlled positioning of single cells on these micropatterns.