Composite polymer systems with control of local substrate elasticity and their effect on cytoskeletal and morphological characteristics of adherent cells

At the interface between extracellular substrates and biological materials, substrate elasticity strongly influences cell morphology and function. The associated biological ramifications comprise a diversity of critical responses including apoptosis, differentiation, and motility, which can affect medical devices such as stents. The interactions of the extracellular environment with the substrate are also affected by local properties wherein cells sense and respond to different physical inputs. To investigate the effects of having localized elasticity control of substrate microenvironments on cell response, we have developed a method to control material interface interactions with cells by dictating local substrate elasticity. This system is created by generating a composite material system with alternating, linear regions of polymers that have distinct stiffness characteristics. This approach was used to examine cytoskeletal and morphological changes in NIH 3T3 fibroblasts with emphasis on both local and global properties, noting that cells sense and respond to distinct material elasticities. Isolated cells sense and respond to these local differences in substrate elasticity by extending processes along the interface. Also, cells grown on softer elastic regions at higher densities (in contact with each other) have a higher projected area than isolated cells. Furthermore, when using chemical agents such as cytochalasin-D to disrupt the actin cytoskeleton, there is a significant increase in projected area for cells cultured on softer elastic regions This method has the potential to promote understanding of biomaterial-affected responses in a diversity of areas including morphogenesis, mechanotransduction, stents, and stem cell differentiation.