Dept. of Cell Biology, Institute of Biomedical Engineering, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany.
Functional and Interactive Polymers, Institute of Technical and Macromolecular Chemistry, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany.
PLoS One. 2021 Sep 23;16(9):e0257495. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0257495. eCollection 2021.
Biomaterial-driven modulation of cell adhesion and migration is a challenging aspect of tissue engineering. Here, we investigated the impact of surface-bound microgel arrays with variable geometry and adjustable cross-linking properties on cell adhesion and migration. We show that cell migration is inversely correlated with microgel array spacing, whereas directionality increases as array spacing increases. Focal adhesion dynamics is also modulated by microgel topography resulting in less dynamic focal adhesions on surface-bound microgels. Microgels also modulate the motility and adhesion of Sertoli cells used as a model for cell migration and adhesion. Both focal adhesion dynamics and speed are reduced on microgels. Interestingly, Gas2L1, a component of the cytoskeleton that mediates the interaction between microtubules and microfilaments, is dispensable for the regulation of cell adhesion and migration on microgels. Finally, increasing microgel cross-linking causes a clear reduction of focal adhesion turnover in Sertoli cells. These findings not only show that spacing and rigidity of surface-grafted microgels arrays can be effectively used to modulate cell adhesion and motility of diverse cellular systems, but they also form the basis for future developments in the fields of medicine and tissue engineering.
生物材料驱动的细胞黏附和迁移的调节是组织工程中的一个具有挑战性的方面。在这里，我们研究了具有不同几何形状和可调交联特性的表面结合微凝胶阵列对细胞黏附和迁移的影响。我们发现细胞迁移与微凝胶阵列间距呈反比，而随着阵列间距的增加，方向性增加。细胞黏附的焦点动态也被微凝胶形貌调节，导致表面结合的微凝胶上的焦点黏附动态减少。微凝胶还调节了作为细胞迁移和黏附模型的支持细胞的运动和黏附。在微凝胶上，焦点黏附的动力学和速度都降低了。有趣的是，Gas2L1，一种介导微管和微丝之间相互作用的细胞骨架成分，对于微凝胶上细胞黏附和迁移的调节是可有可无的。最后，增加微凝胶的交联导致支持细胞中焦点黏附的周转率明显降低。这些发现不仅表明表面接枝的微凝胶阵列的间距和刚性可以有效地用于调节不同细胞系统的细胞黏附和运动，而且为医学和组织工程领域的未来发展奠定了基础。
