Topography, among other physical factors such as substrate stiffness and extracellular forces, is known to have a great influence on cell behaviours. Optimization of topographical features, in particular topographical dimensions ranging from nanoscale to microscale, is the key strategy to obtain the best cellular performance for various applications in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. In this review, we provide a comprehensive survey on the significance of sizes of topography and their impacts on cell adhesion, morphology and alignment, and neurite guidance. Also recent works mimicking the hierarchical structure of natural extracellular matrix by combining both nanoscale and microscale topographies are highlighted.

Glioma linear migration on brain blood vessels is recapitulated in vitro. This migration is characterized by a two-phase process activated by laminin, confinement, and linear topology. It requires a unique balance of actin polymerization systems emphasizing formins and not Arp2/3 and is a powerful tool for identifying new targets such as the formin FHOD3.

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Extracellular matrix (ECM) of the human Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCs) influences intracellular tension and is known to regulate stem cell fate. However, little is known about the physiological conditions in the bone marrow, where external forces such as fluid shear stress, apart from the physical characteristics of the ECM, influence stem cell response. Here, we hypothesize that substrate topography and fluid shear stress alter the cellular contractile forces, influence the genetic expression of the stem cells and hence alter their lineage. When fluid shear stress was applied, human MSCs with higher contractility (seeded on 1 μm wells) underwent osteogenesis, whereas those with lower contractility (seeded on 2 μm gratings) remained multipotent. Compared to human MSCs seeded on gratings, those seeded on wells exhibited altered alignment and an increase in the area and number of focal adhesions. When actomyosin contractility was inhibited, human MSCs did not exhibit differentiation, regardless of the topographical feature they were being cultured on. We conclude that the stresses generated by the applied fluid flow impinge on cell contractility to drive the stem cell differentiation via the contractility of the stem cells.

Neuronal morphology and differentiation have been extensively studied on topography. The differentiation potential of neural progenitors has been shown to be influenced by brain region, developmental stage, and time in culture. However, the neurogenecity and morphology of different neural progenitors in response to topography have not been quantitatively compared. In this study, the correlation between the morphology and differentiation of hippocampal and cortical neural progenitor cells was explored. The morphology of differentiated neural progenitors was quantified on an array of topographies. In spite of topographical contact guidance, cell morphology was observed to be under the influence of regional priming, even after differentiation. This influence of regional priming was further reflected in the correlations between the morphological properties and the differentiation efficiency of the cells. For example, neuronal differentiation efficiency of cortical neural progenitors showed a negative correlation with the number of neurites per neuron, but hippocampal neural progenitors showed a positive correlation. Correlations of morphological parameters and differentiation were further enhanced on gratings, which are known to promote neuronal differentiation. Thus, the neurogenecity and morphology of neural progenitors is highly responsive to certain topographies and is committed early on in development.