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Impact of type-1 collagen hydrogel density on integrin-linked morphogenic response of SH-SY5Y neuronal cells

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journal contribution
posted on 2021-11-25, 11:46 authored by Dan Merryweather, SR Moxon, Andrew CapelAndrew Capel, NM Hooper, Mark LewisMark Lewis, Paul RoachPaul Roach
Cellular metabolism and behaviour is closely linked to cytoskeletal tension and scaffold mechanics. In the developing nervous system functional connectivity is controlled by the interplay between chemical and mechanical cues that initiate programs of cell behaviour. Replication of functional connectivity in neuronal populations in vitro has proven a technical challenge due to the absence of many systems of biomechanical regulation that control directional outgrowth in vivo. Here, a 3D culture system is explored by dilution of a type I collagen hydrogel to produce variation in gel stiffness. Hydrogel scaffold remodelling was found to be linked to gel collagen concentration, with a greater degree of gel contraction occurring at lower concentrations. Gel mechanics were found to evolve over the culture period according to collagen concentration. Less concentrated gels reduced in stiffness, whilst a biphasic pattern of increasing and then decreasing stiffness was observed at higher concentrations. Analysis of these cultures by PCR revealed a program of shifting integrin expression and highly variable activity in key morphogenic signal pathways, such as mitogen-associated protein kinase, indicating genetic impact of biomaterial interactions via mechano-regulation. Gel contraction at lower concentrations was also found to be accompanied by an increase in average collagen fibre diameter. Minor changes in biomaterial mechanics result in significant changes in programmed cell behaviour, resulting in adoption of markedly different cell morphologies and ability to remodel the scaffold. Advanced understanding of cell–biomaterial interactions, over short and long-term culture, is of critical importance in the development of novel tissue engineering strategies for the fabrication of biomimetic 3D neuro-tissue constructs. Simple methods of tailoring the initial mechanical environment presented to SH-SY5Y populations in 3D can lead to significantly different programs of network development over time.

Funding

LSI DTCs 2007-Doctoral Training Centre for Regenerative Medicine

Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council

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History

School

  • Science
  • Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences

Department

  • Chemistry

Published in

RSC Advances

Volume

11

Issue

52

Pages

33124 - 33135

Publisher

Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC)

Version

  • VoR (Version of Record)

Rights holder

© The authors

Publisher statement

This is an Open Access Article. It is published by Royal Society of Chemistry under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence (CC BY). Full details of this licence are available at: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Acceptance date

2021-09-28

Publication date

2021-10-07

Copyright date

2021

eISSN

2046-2069

Language

  • en

Depositor

Deposit date: 23 November 2021

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