Cell-fiber interactions on aligned and suspended nanofiber scaffolds

Abstract

Cells interact with fibrous extracellular matrix (ECM) which exhibits varying degrees of alignment throughout the body. In this review, we highlight cell-aligned fiber interactions using the recentlydeveloped Spinneret-based Tunable Engineered Parameters (STEP) fiber manufacturing technique which creates fibrous scaffolds with precise control on fiber diameter, spacing, orientation, and hierarchy. Through manipulation of each individual parameter, we show that multiple cell types (including cancerous) display unique changes in cell shape, cytoskeletal arrangement, focal adhesion distribution, and migration speed while interacting with the suspended STEP fibers. In addition to single-cell responses, we present our findings on higher-level monolayer formation and wound healing models, stem cell differentiation, and hepatic engineering. These single-cell and population-level studies are conducted in the presence of aligned topographical cues that resemble native ECM. Knowledge gained from such studies will help create more accurate in vitro fibrous scaffolds used for the advancement of tissue engineering, disease treatment, and the development of diagnostic and drug testing platforms. © 2013 American Scientific Publishers, All rights reserved.