Three Dimensional and Homogenous Single Cell Cyclic Stretch within a Magnetic Micropillar Array (mMPA) for a Cell Proliferation Study

Gao, Yibo; Zhou, BingPu; Wu, Xiaoxiao; Gao, Xinghua; Zeng, Xiping; Xie, Jiao; Wang, Cong; Ye, Ziran; Wan, Jun; Wen, Weijia

Three Dimensional and Homogenous Single Cell Cyclic Stretch within a Magnetic Micropillar Array (mMPA) for a Cell Proliferation Study

Type

Article

Authors

Gao, Yibo
Zhou, BingPu
Wu, Xiaoxiao
Gao, Xinghua
Zeng, Xiping
Xie, Jiao
Wang, Cong
Ye, Ziran
Wan, Jun
Wen, Weijia

KAUST Grant Number

SA-C0040/UK-C0016

Date

2015-12-08

Abstract

The physical properties of the extracellular matrix (ECM) are a key aspect of the cell microenvironment. A biological system is a highly dynamic organization. In our study, we designed and prepared a large area of magnetic PDMS elastomer micropillar array (mMPA) with robust and tunable movement for cell mechanics study. The rotational movement frequency of the micropillars could be precisely controlled by a home-built magnetic actuation apparatus. Cells cultured in the mMPA could be suspended in between two micropillars in a single level and exhibited a 3D structure. With the rotational movement of the micropillar, a homogeneous stretchable force could be applied to a single cell along it long axis with various frequencies. We exclusively studied the influence of dynamic properties of the micropillar movement on cell behaviors. We found that, by fixing the amplitude of the stretchable force, the frequency-based properties of the cell microenvironment could significantly change cell functions. The cell behaviors are dependent on the micropillar movement frequency and a transition from proliferation to apoptosis/death exhibited with the increment of the force application frequency.

Citation

Gao, Y., Zhou, B., Wu, X., Gao, X., Zeng, X., Xie, J., … Wen, W. (2015). Three Dimensional and Homogenous Single Cell Cyclic Stretch within a Magnetic Micropillar Array (mMPA) for a Cell Proliferation Study. ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering, 2(1), 65–72. doi:10.1021/acsbiomaterials.5b00381

Acknowledgements

We are grateful for the kind help from Kelvin S. K. Cheung and Ching Walter Lee in DMSF for the design and fabrication of the magnetic actuation apparatus. We thank Miss Jingxuan Tian for the 3D schematic diagram drawing. This research is supported by Award No. SA-C0040/UK-C0016, made by King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) and Hong Kong RGC Grants HKUST 604710 and 605411 and Ministry of Agriculture of the People's Republic of China (no. 201303045). The work is also partially supported by the Environmental Science Program (ENVS) at HKUST.