title: Mechano-regulatory cellular behaviors of NIH/3T3 in response to the storage modulus of liquid crystalline substrates.
abstract: The extent of substrate stiffness has been shown to be predominant in regulating cellular behaviors. Previous studies have used matrices such as elastomers or hydrogels to understand cell behavior. Herein, liquid crystalline matrices that resemble movable morphology of biomembrane and viscoelasticity were fabricated with tunable storage modulus for the evaluation of the modulus-driven cell behaviors. Our results demonstrated that NIH/3T3 cells showed a hypersensitive response to the storage modulus of liquid crystalline substrates by the alteration in attachment, spreading, proliferation and viability, polarization, cell cycle and apoptosis, and activity of mechano-transduction-related signal molecules including FAK, paxillin and ERK. The octyl hydroxypropyl cellulose substrates (OPC-1-5) with intermediate storage modulus of 12,312Pa and 7228Pa (OPC-2 and OPC-3 respectively) could provide more beneficial adhesion conditions leading to a larger spreading area, more elongated morphology and higher proliferation rates possibly through paxillin-ERK pathway, whereas the substrates with the highest or lowest storage modulus (16,723Pa, OPC-1; and 41Pa, OPC-5, respectively) appeared unfavorable for cell growth. Our study provides insights into the mechanism of modulus-driven cellular behaviors for better design of bioengineered cell substrates.
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, PR China; Engineering Research Center of Artificial Organs and Materials, Ministry of Education, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, PR China.
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, PR China.
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Huadu District People׳s Hospital Affiliated of Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510800, PR China.
authors.forename: Hao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, PR China; Engineering Research Center of Artificial Organs and Materials, Ministry of Education, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, PR China.
authors.forename: Ruizhe
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, PR China; Engineering Research Center of Artificial Organs and Materials, Ministry of Education, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, PR China.
authors.forename: Jupeng
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, PR China; Engineering Research Center of Artificial Organs and Materials, Ministry of Education, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, PR China.
authors.forename: Shenyu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, PR China; Engineering Research Center of Artificial Organs and Materials, Ministry of Education, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, PR China.
authors.forename: Rong
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Zeng
authors.affiliation: The First Affiliated Hospital, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, PR China.
authors.forename: Hao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, PR China.
authors.forename: Jiaqing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, PR China.
authors.forename: Bin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, PR China; Engineering Research Center of Artificial Organs and Materials, Ministry of Education, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, PR China. Electronic address: tumei@jnu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Mei
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects; D002448:Cell Adhesion / Q000187:drug effects; D002453:Cell Cycle / Q000187:drug effects; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects; D048430:Cell Shape / Q000187:drug effects; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D002482:Cellulose / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D004548:Elasticity; D005347:Fibroblasts / Q000166:cytology* / Q000187:drug effects*; D055595:Mechanical Phenomena / Q000187:drug effects*; D040542:Mechanotransduction, Cellular / Q000187:drug effects; D051379:Mice; D041681:NIH 3T3 Cells; D013499:Surface Properties; D014783:Viscosity
chemical_list: D002482:Cellulose; C008079:hydroxypropylcellulose
keywords: Cell adhesion; Cell morphology; Cell proliferation; Liquid crystal; Mechano-transduction; Storage modulus