Programmable cell adhesion with DNA hybridization is a promising approach for fabricating various tissue architectures without sophisticated instrumentation. However, little is known about how this artificial interaction influences the binding of cell adhesion proteins, E-cadherin. In this work, we designed a planar and fluid lipid membrane displaying E-cadherin and/or single-strand DNA with well-defined densities. Visualization of cells on membranes by fluorescence and interference microscopy revealed cell adhesion to be a two-step process: artificial adhesion by DNA hybridization within a few minutes followed by biological adhesion via cadherin-cadherin binding within hours. Furthermore, we discovered that DNA hybridization can substantially facilitate E-cadherin-mediated cell adhesion. The promotive effect is probably due to the enforced binding between E-cadherin molecules in geometrical confinement between two membranes. Our in vitro model of cell adhesion can potentially be used to design functional synthetic molecules that can regulate cell adhesion via cell adhesion proteins for tissue engineering.
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