title: Cytoskeletal role in differential adhesion patterns of normal fibroblasts and breast cancer cells inside silicon microenvironments.
abstract: In this paper we studied differential adhesion of normal human fibroblast cells and human breast cancer cells to three dimensional (3-D) isotropic silicon microstructures and investigated whether cell cytoskeleton in healthy and diseased state results in differential adhesion. The 3-D silicon microstructures were formed by a single-mask single-isotropic-etch process. The interaction of these two cell lines with the presented microstructures was studied under static cell culture conditions. The results show that there is not a significant elongation of both cell types attached inside etched microstructures compared to flat surfaces. With respect to adhesion, the cancer cells adopt the curved shape of 3-D microenvironments while fibroblasts stretch to avoid the curved sidewalls. Treatment of fibroblast cells with cytochalasin D changed their adhesion, spreading and morphology and caused them act similar to cancer cells inside the 3-D microstructures. Statistical analysis confirmed that there is a significant alteration (P < 0.001) in fibroblast cell morphology and adhesion property after adding cytochalasin D. Adding cytochalasin D to cancer cells made these cells more rounded while there was not a significant alteration in their adhesion properties. The distinct geometry-dependent cell-surface interactions of fibroblasts and breast cancer cells are attributed to their different cytoskeletal structure; fibroblasts have an organized cytoskeletal structure and less deformable while cancer cells deform easily due to their impaired cytoskeleton. These 3-D silicon microstructures can be used as a tool to investigate cellular activities in a 3-D architecture and compare cytoskeletal properties of various cell lines.
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA. mnikkhah@vt.edu
authors.forename: Mehdi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nikkhah
authors.forename: Jeannine S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Strobl
authors.forename: Bhanu
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Peddi
authors.forename: Masoud
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Agah
mesh_terms: D000199:Actins / Q000502:physiology; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002448:Cell Adhesion / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D018929:Cell Culture Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation*; D002460:Cell Line; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D048430:Cell Shape; D015638:Cytochalasin D / Q000494:pharmacology; D003599:Cytoskeleton / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D005347:Fibroblasts / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D055616:Microtechnology; D008904:Miniaturization; D012825:Silicon / Q000737:chemistry*; D013379:Substrate Specificity; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D000199:Actins; D015638:Cytochalasin D; D012825:Silicon