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Updated: Jan 27, 2026

Bottom-Up In Vitro Methods to Assay the Ultrastructural Organization, Membrane Reshaping, and Curvature Sensitivity Behavior of Septins
Published on: August 17, 2022
Overlooked? Underestimated? Effects of Substrate Curvature on Cell Behavior
Danielle Baptista1, Liliana Teixeira2, Clemens van Blitterswijk1
1Department of Complex Tissue Regeneration, MERLN Institute for Technology-Inspired Regenerative Medicine, Maastricht University, Universiteitssingel 40, 6229 ER Maastricht, The Netherlands.
Abstract:
In biological systems, form and function are inherently correlated. Despite this strong interdependence, the biological effect of curvature has been largely overlooked or underestimated, and consequently it has rarely been considered in the design of new cell-material interfaces. This review summarizes current understanding of the interplay between the curvature of a cell substrate and the related morphological and functional cellular response. In this context, we also discuss what is currently known about how, in the process of such a response, cells recognize curvature and accordingly reshape their membrane. Beyond this, we highlight state-of-the-art microtechnologies for engineering curved biomaterials at cell-scale, and describe aspects that impair or improve readouts of the pure effect of curvature on cells.
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