Kung K S, Canton I, Massignani M, Battaglia G, Donald A M
Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge, UK.
Eur Phys J E Soft Matter. 2011 Mar;34(3):23. doi: 10.1140/epje/i2011-11023-x. Epub 2011 Mar 7.
3T3 fibroblasts cultured on microgrooved polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) surfaces of two different widths (25 μm and 55 μm) were individually tracked using confocal microscopy with a novel live-cell staining technique over several hours without noticeable cytotoxic effects. By quantifying the cell morphology, orientation, and migration over time, we identified the timescale (about 2-4 h after seeding) over which cell behaviours transitioned from isotropy to anisotropy, where the preference is in the direction parallel to the pattern. The development of anisotropy occurred more rapidly and distinctly when a narrower ridge width was used, suggesting that it is the ridge width that imposed a physical barrier on the cells' morphology and motility. Furthermore, while we found a weak but statistically significant correlation between cell orientation and morphology on the single-cell level, there is a lack of correlation on the same level between cell orientation and migratory direction. This suggests that while morphology and migration are affected anisotropically by topographical patterns in a similar way, the underlying processes giving rise to the anisotropy is slightly different in the two cases.
在两种不同宽度（25微米和55微米）的微槽聚二甲基硅氧烷（PDMS）表面培养的3T3成纤维细胞，使用一种新型活细胞染色技术通过共聚焦显微镜进行了数小时的单独追踪，未观察到明显的细胞毒性作用。通过量化细胞形态、取向和随时间的迁移，我们确定了细胞行为从各向同性转变为各向异性的时间尺度（接种后约2 - 4小时），此时细胞倾向于平行于图案的方向。当使用较窄的脊宽度时，各向异性的发展更快且更明显，这表明是脊宽度对细胞形态和运动性施加了物理屏障。此外，虽然我们在单细胞水平上发现细胞取向与形态之间存在微弱但具有统计学意义的相关性，但在相同水平上细胞取向与迁移方向之间缺乏相关性。这表明虽然形态和迁移以类似的方式受到地形图案的各向异性影响，但在这两种情况下导致各向异性的潜在过程略有不同。
