Mechanical Adaptations of Epithelial Cells on Various Protruded Convex Geometries

Abstract

The shape of epithelial tissue supports physiological functions of organs such as intestinal villi and corneal epithelium. Despite the mounting evidence showing the importance of geometry in tissue microenvironments, the current understanding on how it affects biophysical behaviors of cells is still elusive. Here, we cultured cells on various protruded convex structure such as triangle, square, and circle shape fabricated using two-photon laser lithography and quantitatively analyzed individual cells. Morphological data indicates that epithelial cells can sense the sharpness of the corner by showing the characteristic cell alignments, which was caused by actin contractility. Cell area was mainly influenced by surface convexity, and Rho-activation increased cell area on circle shape. Moreover, we found that intermediate filaments, vimentin, and cytokeratin 8/18, play important roles in growth and adaptation of epithelial cells by enhancing expression level on convex structure depending on the shape. In addition, microtubule building blocks, α-tubulin, was also responded on geometric structure, which indicates that intermediate filaments and microtubule can cooperatively secure mechanical stability of epithelial cells on convex surface. Altogether, the current study will expand our understanding of mechanical adaptations of cells on out-of-plane geometry.

Cell monolayers sense curvature by exploiting active mechanics and nuclear mechanoadaptation

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From Bioinspired Topographies toward Non-Wettable Neural Implants

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Bioengineered 3D Tissue Model of Intestine Epithelium with Oxygen Gradients to Sustain Human Gut Microbiome

“…For example, compared to 2D substrates, 3D epithelial cells residing in the 3D curved environments more closely resemble the in vivo cell environments and more actively consume oxygen, since increased epithelial cell viability and proliferation have been observed in concave areas in growing epithelia, such as mammary [ 69 ] and renal epithelia. [ 70 ] Another explanation could be that compared to 2D substrates, 3D curvature topography increases surface area to host a higher density of cells for oxygen consumption. It is worth mentioning that in the present study we were able to establish intestinal oxygen gradients simply by reorienting scaffolds in culture without the need for specialized equipment or consumption of large quantities of expensive media.…”