Imashiro Chikahiro, Kang Byungjun, Lee Yunam, Hwang Youn-Hoo, Im Seonghun, Kim Dae-Eun, Takemura Kenjiro, Lee Hyungsuk
Institute of Advanced Biomedical Engineering and Science, Tokyo Women's Medical University, Shinjuku, Japan.
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Keio University, Yokohama, Japan.
Microsyst Nanoeng. 2021 Nov 11;7:90. doi: 10.1038/s41378-021-00304-8. eCollection 2021.
Collective cell migration plays a critical role in physiological and pathological processes such as development, wound healing, and metastasis. Numerous studies have demonstrated how various types of chemical, mechanical, and electrical cues dictate the collective migratory behaviors of cells. Although an acoustic cue can be advantageous because of its noninvasiveness and biocompatibility, cell migration in response to acoustic stimulation remains poorly understood. In this study, we developed a device that is able to apply surface acoustic waves to a cell culture substrate and investigated the effect of propagating acoustic waves on collective cell migration. The migration distance estimated at various wave intensities revealed that unidirectional cell migration was enhanced at a critical wave intensity and that it was suppressed as the intensity was further increased. The increased migration might be attributable to cell orientation alignment along the direction of the propagating wave, as characterized by nucleus shape. Thicker actin bundles indicative of a high traction force were observed in cells subjected to propagating acoustic waves at the critical intensity. Our device and technique can be useful for regulating cellular functions associated with cell migration.
集体细胞迁移在诸如发育、伤口愈合和转移等生理和病理过程中起着关键作用。大量研究已经证明了各种类型的化学、机械和电信号如何决定细胞的集体迁移行为。尽管声学信号因其非侵入性和生物相容性而具有优势，但对细胞对声学刺激的迁移反应仍知之甚少。在本研究中，我们开发了一种能够将表面声波施加到细胞培养底物上的装置，并研究了传播声波对集体细胞迁移的影响。在不同波强度下估计的迁移距离表明，单向细胞迁移在临界波强度下增强，而随着强度进一步增加则受到抑制。迁移增加可能归因于细胞沿着传播波的方向排列，这通过细胞核形状来表征。在临界强度下受到传播声波作用的细胞中观察到较粗的肌动蛋白束，这表明存在高牵引力。我们的装置和技术可用于调节与细胞迁移相关的细胞功能。
