Previous analysis of cell migration on artificial polymeric substrates of adjustable substrate stiffness suggests that external mechanical cues may have a profound influence on cellular fate and function of anchorage-dependent cells in an extracellular matrix environment. In contrast, less is known about how cells may respond to mechanical signals from neighboring cells, considered to be important in processes, such as epithelial-mesenchymal transition and vascular leakage during inflammation. To address this uncertainty, here we explore properties of C2C12 myoblasts on cadherin-functionalized polymer-tethered lipid membrane systems of adjustable substrate stiffness. These biomembrane-mimicking cell substrates allow the free assembly of linkers into linker clusters at cellular adhesions without impairing cell migration, thus better replicating the dynamics at cell-cell-junctions than polymeric substrates with polymer-conjugated linkers. Moreover, polymer-tethered lipid membrane systems are well suited to examine cellular mechanosensitivity because substrate stiffness can be controlled either by the number of bilayers in a polymer-tethered multi-bilayer stack or by adjustment of lipopolymer concentration in the membrane system. The latter approach is attractive because polymer-tethered membranes with a lateral gradient in lipopolymer concentration can be built. Results from myoblasts are presented, which illustrate the functionality of these cell-cell-mimicking artificial cell substrates.

Probing cellular mechanosensitivity using cadherin-functionalized polymer-tethered lipid bilayer architectures

251st National Meeting (2016)

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