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3D Microtissues for Injectable Regenerative Therapy and High-throughput Drug Screening
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Surface and Bulk Stresses Drive Morphological Changes in Fibrous Microtissues.
Erik Mailand1, Bin Li2, Jeroen Eyckmans3
1Institute of Mechanical Engineering and Bioengineering, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Biophysical Journal
|August 21, 2019
Summary
Researchers studied how physical forces shape engineered tissues. They found that surface and bulk contraction work together to control tissue shape, providing a new framework for predicting tissue development.
Area of Science:
- Biophysics
- Tissue Engineering
- Cell Biology
Background:
- Engineered fibrous tissues are vital in vitro models for studying morphogenesis and wound healing.
- Cell-driven matrix remodeling is well-studied, but the mesoscale physical principles of tissue shape dynamics are less understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the physical principles governing shape evolution in constrained three-dimensional (3D) microtissues.
- To elucidate the interplay between surface and bulk contraction in driving tissue shape changes.
Main Methods:
- Utilized microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) to create fibrous microtissues.
- Employed robot-assisted microsurgery for precise incisions and cell implantation.
- Developed a phototoxic activation method for spatially controlled cell ablation.
- Conducted computer simulations to model tissue shape dynamics.
Main Results:
- Demonstrated that surface stresses (surface contraction) coordinate with bulk contraction to dictate microtissue shape.
- Computer simulations accurately reproduced experimental shape changes following surgical and photochemical interventions.
- Showed that fitting bulk and surface contractile moduli predicts equilibrium tissue shape.
Conclusions:
- The study provides a computational and experimental framework for predicting morphogenic states in contractile fibrous tissues.
- Highlights the critical role of coordinated bulk and surface contraction in 3D tissue shape determination.
- Offers a generalizable method for studying tissue mechanics under external loading across multiple scales.
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