Investigation of cell adhesion to structured surfaces using total internal reflection fluorescence and confocal laser scanning microscopy.
Adhesion of adherent cells on structured surfaces is influenced by the surface pattern given. Here, we designed a structured gold relief surface based on cell adhesion patterns we had previously observed. We analysed the geometric parameters and the overall distribution of focal adhesion kinase in focal adhesions on unstructured glass surfaces using optical microscopy. The basic structural elements obtained from this analysis were arranged in regular clusters that resembled the shape of a polarised migratory cell. In time-lapse studies we observed that the cells adhere preferentially to the gold pads and adopt the shape of the clusters. Staining of the actin cytoskeleton revealed that the actin filaments are aligned to the gold pads of the elementary structure.
Fraunhofer Institute for Biomedical Engineering, Invalidenstrasse 42, D-10115 Berlin, Germany. uta.joos@ibmt.fraunhofer.de
Uta
U
Joos
Till
T
Biskup
Oliver
O
Ernst
Ines
I
Westphal
Cristina
C
Gherasim
Rudolf
R
Schmidt
Klaus
K
Edinger
Götz
G
Pilarczyk
Claus
C
Duschl
D000199:Actins / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure; D000818:Animals; D002448:Cell Adhesion / Q000502:physiology*; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D005347:Fibroblasts / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure; D022001:Focal Adhesions / Q000502:physiology / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D051379:Mice; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal / Q000379:methods; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence / Q000379:methods
D000199:Actins