AVS 52nd International Symposium
    Biomaterial Interfaces Wednesday Sessions
       Session BI2-WeA

Paper BI2-WeA8
A Photolithographic Method for Patterning Soft Polyacrylamide to Enhance Smooth Muscle Cell Elongation

Wednesday, November 2, 2005, 4:20 pm, Room 311a

Session: Cell-Surface Interactions
Presenter: J.G. Jacot, Boston University
Authors: J.G. Jacot, Boston University
J.L. Jackel, Boston University
S.G. Koester, Boston University
J.Y. Wong, Boston University
Correspondent: Click to Email
Vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) express a contractile phenotype in vivo that is lost as cells proliferate in vitro. The manufacture of a successful tissue engineered blood vessel requires the ability of VSMCs to proliferate and populate a scaffold, then revert to a contractile state. In vivo, VSMCs are highly elongated and previous studies from our lab have shown that cell shape influences the localization of proteins such as F-actin and calponin that have a contractile function. Further studies by others found that cell constrainment can also reduce proliferation. However, all these studies investigated cells on rigid substrates, which do not mimic the mechanical environment of the arterial wall, and cannot functionally measure contractile force generation. We have developed a soft lithography technique for patterning 10-micron lanes of collagen on soft polyacrylamide hydrogels. These patterned materials allow separate control of substrate elasticity and cell shape and also allow measurement of cell-generated forces by following the displacement of embedded fluorescent marker beads. Because these materials are fully hydrated and very compliant compared to previously patterned rigid cell culture substrates, maintaining high pattern resolution is difficult. The 10-micron patterns presented here are higher resolution than previously published protein patterns on soft polyacrylamide. Passaged bovine arterial VSMCs plated on these patterned hydrogels attach and spread only on the collagen lanes and have aspect ratios 2-fold higher than unpatterned VSMCs.