MODULATION OF CELLULAR DIFFERENTIATION AND MORPHOLOGY BY TOPOGRAPHY AND ITS EFFECTS ON THE PRIMARY CILIUM

Abstract

The mechanical environment of a cell provides important stimuli for modulating cellular processes and sub-cellular architecture. Here, substrate topography was used to study the effect of mechanical stimuli on cell and primary cilium morphology and cell migration. The correlation between topographically modulated neural progenitor differentiation and morphology was found to be influenced by the region of the brain from which cells were isolated and was enhanced on gratings. Primary cilia are receptive to mechanical stimulation and are modulators of cell migration. When studied on gratings, it was found that primary cilium morphology was dependent on grating size, despite having no direct contact with the substrate. In cell migration, it was found that topography can overrule biochemical stimuli such as POPX2 phosphatase overexpression. Together, the effects of topography on cell morphology, primary cilium morphology and cell migration provide insight into the complex biochemical and mechanical control in these cellular processes.