Understanding
how the injury morphology impacts endothelial repair
is pivotal to curing vascular diseases. However, animal study or traditional
two-dimensional wound healing models are limited to the simulation
of three-dimensional (3D) injuries. In the present study, a cell migration
model was established using a 3D micropatterned biochip. The biochip
consisted of three functional regions, including a flat surface termed
the cell seeding region to mimic a normal endothelial tissue, a region
with a micropillar array termed the valve region that controlled cell
migration due to hydrophobic forces, and an area with an array of
micropits termed the cell migration region that simulated an impaired
endothelial tissue. The sidewalls of the micropits simulated the interface
between the normal tissue and impaired tissue. The migration behavior
of two types of vascular cells, that is, endothelial cells (ECs) and
vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs), in response to changes in the
morphology of the injury interface, including depth, width, and curvature,
was studied. The proportion of micropits occupied with cells at different
time points was analyzed to reflect the difficulty that cells experience
migrating into the target micropits. The results indicated that interfaces
with a greater depth or width or having a lower curvature were more
difficult for cells to traverse. A greater proportion of VSMCs was
able to migrate over the pits than ECs. Additionally, it was found
that the varying response of cells to the different interfaces was
related to the cell geometry and cytoskeleton. On the basis of these
results, we formed a better understanding of the repair mechanism
of vascular endothelial injury.