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Microengineering 3D Collagen Hydrogels with Long-Range Fiber Alignment
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Microengineering 3D Collagen Matrices with Tumor-Mimetic Gradients in Fiber Alignment
Indranil M Joshi1, Mehran Mansouri1, Adeel Ahmed1
1Department of Biomedical Engineering, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY.
Biorxiv : the Preprint Server for Biology
|July 28, 2023
Summary
Tumor cells in the tumor microenvironment (TME) migrate along collagen fibers. Researchers developed a new method to create fiber alignment gradients, revealing cells prefer migrating towards areas of increasing alignment.
Area of Science:
- Biomaterials Engineering
- Cancer Biology
- Cellular Mechanics
Background:
- Collagen fibers in the tumor microenvironment (TME) guide tumor cell migration.
- Existing research often uses uniform or random fiber alignments, not physiological gradients.
- Cellular responses to alignment gradients in the TME are largely unexplored due to limited experimental techniques.
Conclusions:
- Engineered continuous gradients of fiber alignment in soft, natural materials for the first time.
- Alignment gradients may act as a taxis cue influencing cell migration in the extracellular matrix.
- The developed user-friendly platform offers new capabilities for studying contact guidance in cell migration without specialized equipment.
