Spatial coordination of cell orientation directed by nanoribbon sheets

Spatial coordination of cell orientation is of central importance in tissue/organ construction. In this study, we developed microfabricated poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) nanoribbon sheets with unique structures, using spin-coating and micropatterning techniques, in order to generate a hierarchically assembled cellular structure consisting of murine skeletal myoblasts (C2C12). The nanoribbon sheets were composed of aligned PLGA nanoribbons in the center, and strips on four sides which take a role as bridges to connect and immobilize the aligned nanoribbons. Such unique structures facilitated the alignment of C2C12 cells into bilayer cell sheets, and cellular alignment was directed by the aligned direction of nanoribbons. The nanoribbon sheets also facilitated the construction of multilayer cell sheets with anisotropic (orthogonal) and isotropic (parallel) orientations. The enhanced expression of myogenic genes of C2C12 cells on the bilayer cell sheets demonstrated that the nanoribbons induced C2C12 cell differentiation into mature myoblasts. The micropatterned nanoribbon sheets may be a useful tool for directing cellular organization with defined alignment for regenerative medicine and drug screening applications.