TY - JOUR
T1 - Manipulation of cell mechanotaxis by designing curvature of the elasticity boundary on hydrogel matrix
AU - Ueki, Ayaka
AU - Kidoaki, Satoru
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors thank Prof. Takehisa Matsuda of the Kanazawa Institute of Technology (Japan) for assistance with the synthesis of styrenated gelatins. We also thank Prof. Testuo Yamaguchi of Kyushu University for his insightful discussions. This work was supported by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research ( 24300173 , 24120007 ), a Management Expenses Grants for National Universities Corporations (Nano-Macro Materials, Devices and System Research Alliance) from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) of Japan .
PY - 2015/2/1
Y1 - 2015/2/1
N2 - Directional cell migration induced by the stiffness gradient of cell culture substrates is known as a subset of the mechanical-cue-induced taxis, so-called mechanotaxis, typically durotaxis toward hard region. To establish the general conditions of biomaterials to manipulate the mechanotaxis, the effect of the shape of the elasticity transition boundary between hard and soft regions of a substrate on mechanotaxis should be systematically determined as well as the conditions of elasticity gradient strength. Here, as a simplified factor of expressing variations in the shape of the elasticity boundary in living tissues, we focus on the curvature of the elasticity boundary. Mask-free photolithographic microelasticity patterning of photocurable gelatin gel was employed to systematically prepare elasticity boundaries with various curvatures, and the efficiency of mechanotaxis of fibroblast cells around each curved boundary was examined. Highly efficient usual durotaxis was induced on a convex boundary with 100μm in radius and on a concave boundary with 750μm in radius of curvature. Interestingly, biased migration toward soft regions of the gel, i.e., inverse durotaxis, was first observed for concave boundaries with 50μm or 100μm in radius of curvature, which was named as "negative mechanotaxis". The curvature of the elasticity boundary was found to markedly affect the efficiency of induction and the direction of mechanotaxis. The mechanism responsible for this phenomenon and the implication for the curvature effect in invivo systems are discussed.
AB - Directional cell migration induced by the stiffness gradient of cell culture substrates is known as a subset of the mechanical-cue-induced taxis, so-called mechanotaxis, typically durotaxis toward hard region. To establish the general conditions of biomaterials to manipulate the mechanotaxis, the effect of the shape of the elasticity transition boundary between hard and soft regions of a substrate on mechanotaxis should be systematically determined as well as the conditions of elasticity gradient strength. Here, as a simplified factor of expressing variations in the shape of the elasticity boundary in living tissues, we focus on the curvature of the elasticity boundary. Mask-free photolithographic microelasticity patterning of photocurable gelatin gel was employed to systematically prepare elasticity boundaries with various curvatures, and the efficiency of mechanotaxis of fibroblast cells around each curved boundary was examined. Highly efficient usual durotaxis was induced on a convex boundary with 100μm in radius and on a concave boundary with 750μm in radius of curvature. Interestingly, biased migration toward soft regions of the gel, i.e., inverse durotaxis, was first observed for concave boundaries with 50μm or 100μm in radius of curvature, which was named as "negative mechanotaxis". The curvature of the elasticity boundary was found to markedly affect the efficiency of induction and the direction of mechanotaxis. The mechanism responsible for this phenomenon and the implication for the curvature effect in invivo systems are discussed.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2014.11.030
DO - 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2014.11.030
M3 - Article
C2 - 25522964
AN - SCOPUS:84916910557
VL - 41
SP - 45
EP - 52
JO - Biomaterials
JF - Biomaterials
SN - 0142-9612
ER -