Previously, we demonstrated that cells readily spread and migrate on a polymer-tethered lipid bilayer comprised of phospholipids, lipopolymers, and ligands of cell adhesion receptors. A hallmark of such a model membrane system is that the fluid lipid bilayer allows the free assembly of ligands into ligand clusters at cell adhesion sites, whose mobility is however hindered by the presence of polymer-tethered lipids in the bilayer, thus enabling the development of cellular traction forces required for cell spreading and migration to occur. Here we describe the assembly and characterization of a polymer gel-tethered lipid bilayer (PGTB), which can be seen as an alternative form of polymer-tethered membrane. In this case, a single phospholipid bilayer is attached to the surface of a functionalized polyacrylamide gel via specific gel-bilayer linkages, thus maintaining the stability of the supramolecular assembly. A particularly attractive feature of this cell surface mimetic represents the ability to modify its viscoelastic properties by altering the crosslinking density of the polymer gel over the whole physiologically relevant range, enabling studies of cellular mechanosensitivity on cell surface-mimicking substrates. Specifically, we describe different PGTB assembly strategies and discuss properties of adherent cells on such substrates.

Polymer gel-tethered lipid bilayer (PGTB): A cell surface mimetic of adjustable viscoelasticity

ACS Spring 2022

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