Asymmetric nanotopography biases cytoskeletal dynamics and promotes unidirectional cell guidance.

ABSTRACT: Many biological and physiological processes depend upon directed migration of cells, which is typically mediated by chemical or physical gradients or by signal relay. Here we show that cells can be guided in a single preferred direction based solely on local asymmetries in nano/microtopography on subcellular scales. These asymmetries can be repeated, and thereby provide directional guidance, over arbitrarily large areas. The direction and strength of the guidance is sensitive to the details of the nano/microtopography, suggesting that this phenomenon plays a context-dependent role in vivo. We demonstrate that appropriate asymmetric nano/microtopography can unidirectionally bias internal actin polymerization waves and that cells move with the same preferred direction as these waves. This ph

SUBMITTER: Sun X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4611618 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature