Anisotropically Stiff 3D Micropillar Niche Induces Extraordinary Cell Alignment and Elongation

Yunus Alapan; Mousa Younesi; Ozan Akkus; Umut A Gurkan

doi:10.1002/adhm.201600096

Anisotropically Stiff 3D Micropillar Niche Induces Extraordinary Cell Alignment and Elongation

Adv Healthc Mater. 2016 Aug;5(15):1884-92. doi: 10.1002/adhm.201600096. Epub 2016 May 18.

Authors

Yunus Alapan¹, Mousa Younesi¹, Ozan Akkus^{1

2

3}, Umut A Gurkan^{1

2

3

4}

Affiliations

¹ Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, 44106, USA.
² Biomedical Engineering Department, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, 44106, USA.
³ Department of Orthopedics, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, 44106, USA.
⁴ Advanced Platform Technology Center, Louis Stokes Cleveland Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Cleveland, OH, 44106, USA.

Abstract

A microfabricated pillar substrate is developed to confine, align, and elongate cells, allowing decoupled analysis of stiffness and directionality in 3D. Mesenchymal stem cells and cardiomyocytes are successfully confined in a 3D environment with precisely tunable stiffness anisotropy. It is discovered that anisotropically stiff micropillar substrates provide cellular confinement in 3D, aligning cells in the stiffer direction with extraordinary elongation.

Keywords: 3D microenvironment; cell shape; microfabrication; micropillar arrays; stiffness anisotropy.

MeSH terms

Animals
Anisotropy
Cell Line
Humans
Mesenchymal Stem Cells / cytology
Mesenchymal Stem Cells / metabolism*
Mice
Myocytes, Cardiac / cytology
Myocytes, Cardiac / metabolism*
Stem Cell Niche*

Abstract

MeSH terms

Grants and funding