The effect of substrate microtopography on focal adhesion maturation and actin organization via the RhoA/ROCK pathway

Topography Design Concept of a Tissue Engineering Scaffold for Controlling Cell Function and Fate Through Actin Cytoskeletal Modulation

“…3B, Micropillar-1, top). [80][81][82] On the other hand, if there is enough spacing between the pillars, actin filaments are constrained between the pillars, and the focal adhesions are present only on the side and/or the bottom of the pillars (Fig. 3B, Micropillar-1, bottom).…”

Osteoblasts preferentially adhere to peaks on micro-structured titanium

“…Adhesion is a key factor in determining the ability of a cell to effectively colonise a biomaterial, and thus to deposit a matrix that can serve as basis for newly formed tissue. Cells adhering to biomaterials with complex topographies have been shown to acquire a shape that adapts to the underlying substrate [5][6][7][8] , and convincing evidence has been presented to support the hypothesis that cell shape actually affects cell activity and differentiation fate [9][10][11] , although how cells can sense the geometrical features of endosseous implant surfaces and transduce them into pro-differentiation stimuli is still being actively investigated. Biomaterials that can control cell shape have thus the potential to provide cells with potent stimuli that can affect cell commitment toward a phenotype lineage, and investigating the 3D morphological conformation of a cell on a biomaterial surface is therefore of pivot importance to predict its behavior.…”

Insights into the Role of Focal Adhesion Modulation in Myogenic Differentiation of Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells

“…Among these, Goffin et al employed micropatterning to modulate FA development in myofibroblasts and found that the FA length controls the transition of smooth muscle actin (SMA) into stress fibers in a tension-dependant manner [18]. Seo et al found that FA maturation and actin polymerization were promoted via the RhoA pathway when MSCs were cultured on microtopographical substrates [19]. However, so far, there are no reports on the synergistic study of FA modulation, matrix stiffness, and ECM ligands on stem cell differentiation; let alone the more important mechanistic studies of these interactions, which we would like to address in this article.…”