title: Aligned nanofibrillar collagen regulates endothelial organization and migration.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Modulating endothelial cell (EC) morphology and motility, with the aim to influence their biology, might be beneficial for the treatment of vascular disease. We examined the effect of nanoscale matrix anisotropy on EC organization and migration for vascular tissue engineering applications.
  
  
  METHODS
  We developed a flow processing technique to generate anisotropic nanofibrillar collagen. Human ECs were cultured on aligned or on randomly oriented collagen, and their cellular alignment and cytoskeletal organization were characterized by immunofluorescence staining and time-lapse microscopy.
  
  
  RESULTS
  ECs were elongated along the direction of aligned collagen nanofibrils and had organized focal adhesions. Cellular protrusion migrated with greater directionality and higher velocity along the anisotropic nanofibrils compared with cells on random nanofibrils. The flow technique can be adapted to fabricate vascular grafts that support the endothelial phenotype.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Aligned nanofibrillar collagen regulates EC organization and migration, which can significantly contribute to the development of vascular grafts.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, Stanford University, 380 North-South Mall, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
authors.forename: Edwina S
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Lai
authors.forename: Ngan F
authors.initials: NF
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: John P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Cooke
authors.forename: Gerald G
authors.initials: GG
authors.lastname: Fuller
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D016880:Anisotropy; D001807:Blood Vessel Prosthesis; D002465:Cell Movement / Q000187:drug effects*; D048430:Cell Shape / Q000187:drug effects; D042783:Endothelial Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D004727:Endothelium / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000637:transplantation; D024022:Fibrillar Collagens / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006801:Humans; D057139:Nanofibers / Q000737:chemistry*; D051381:Rats
chemical_list: D024022:Fibrillar Collagens