PHYSICAL RESPONSES OF CELLS TO GRATING TOPOGRAPHY VIA MECHANO-SENSING

Abstract

IN TISSUE ENGINEERING, STEM CELLS PLAY AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN THE REGENERATION OF DISEASED TISSUES AND ORGANS. HUMAN MESENCHYMAL STEM CELLS (HMSCS) RESPOND TO BIOCHEMICAL AND PHYSICAL CUES TO DIFFERENTIATE INTO DIFFERENT LINEAGES. SURFACE TOPOGRAPHY INDUCES HMSC DIFFERENTIATION VIA CHANGES IN CELL SHAPE AND ADHESION. THE CURRENT WORK STUDIES PHYSICAL RESPONSES OF CELLS TO GRATING TOPOGRAPHY FROM A MECHANISTIC PERSPECTIVE. USING EXPERIMENTAL DATA AND MATHEMATICAL MODELING, THE PHYSICAL PARAMETERS INFLUENCING CELL-SUBSTRATE INTERACTION ARE IDENTIFIED AND USED TO EXPLAIN POSSIBLE MECHANISMS UNDERLYING MECHANO-SENSING. IT WAS FOUND THAT THE MECHANICAL AND GEOMETRICAL PROPERTIES OF GRATINGS ARE IMPORTANT IN REGULATING CELLULAR RESPONSES. WIDER GRATINGS WITH CURVE EDGES RESULTED IN THE BENDING OF THE BASAL MEMBRANE INTO GROOVES. THE ANISOTROPIC STRUCTURE OF THE GRATINGS ALSO ALTERED THE LOCAL RIGIDITY OF THE SUBSTRATE AND LED TO THE FORMATION OF LARGER FOCAL ADHESIONS AND STRONGER TRACTION FOR