Sun Qian, Qiu Tiecheng, Liu Xiaojing, Wei Qiang
College of Polymer Science and Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Polymer Materials and Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610065, P. R. China.
Department of Pediatric Dentistry, School and Hospital of Stomatology, Cheeloo College of Medicine, and Shandong Key Laboratory of Oral Tissue Regeneration, Shandong Engineering Research Center of Dental Materials and Oral Tissue Regeneration, and Shandong Provincial Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Shandong University, Jinan, 250012, P. R. China.
Small. 2025 Apr;21(13):e2410351. doi: 10.1002/smll.202410351. Epub 2025 Feb 18.
The geometric properties of extracellular matrix (ECM) fibers play a crucial role in regulating cellular behaviors and functions. Although extensive research has examined the effects of fiber alignment, conflicting results have often arisen, leaving the precise mechanisms by which electrospun fiber alignment affects cellular behavior still unclear. This study investigates how the arrangement of polycaprolactone (PCL) electrospun fiber substrates affects cellular mechanosensing by modulating cell positioning. Larger cells, whose width on a coverslip exceeds 5 times the width of the aligned fiber gaps (≈8 µm in this study) and that span multiple aligned fibers, demonstrate enhanced spreading and mechanotransduction. Conversely, smaller cells, whose width is less than or equal to 2.5 times the width of the aligned fiber gaps and are confined within fiber interstices, exhibit limited mechanotransductive signaling. These findings are further supported by manipulating cell size and, more importantly, have led to the fabrication of semi-aligned fiber networks that enhance both cell spreading and mechanotransduction. This research emphasizes the importance of optimizing fiber architecture to improve cellular interactions, offering valuable insights for the design of biomimetic scaffolds in tissue regeneration.
细胞外基质（ECM）纤维的几何特性在调节细胞行为和功能方面起着至关重要的作用。尽管已有大量研究探讨了纤维排列的影响，但结果往往相互矛盾，电纺纤维排列影响细胞行为的精确机制仍不清楚。本研究通过调节细胞定位，研究聚己内酯（PCL）电纺纤维基质的排列如何影响细胞机械传感。较大的细胞，其在盖玻片上的宽度超过排列纤维间隙宽度的5倍（本研究中约为8μm）且跨越多条排列纤维，表现出增强的铺展和机械转导。相反，较小的细胞，其宽度小于或等于排列纤维间隙宽度的2.5倍且局限于纤维间隙内，表现出有限的机械转导信号。通过操纵细胞大小进一步支持了这些发现，更重要的是，这导致了半排列纤维网络的制造，该网络增强了细胞铺展和机械转导。本研究强调了优化纤维结构以改善细胞相互作用的重要性，为组织再生中仿生支架的设计提供了有价值的见解。
