PEG-Anthracene Hydrogels as an On-Demand Stiffening Matrix To Study Mechanobiology.

ABSTRACT: There is a growing interest in materials that can dynamically change their properties in the presence of cells to study mechanobiology. Herein, we exploit the 365?nm light mediated [4+4] photodimerization of anthracene groups to develop cytocompatible PEG-based hydrogels with tailorable initial moduli that can be further stiffened. A hydrogel formulation that can stiffen from 10 to 50?kPa, corresponding to the stiffness of a healthy and fibrotic heart, respectively, was prepared. This system was used to monitor the stiffness-dependent localization of NFAT, a downstream target of intracellular calcium signaling using a reporter in live cardiac fibroblasts (CFbs). NFAT translocates to the nucleus of CFbs on stiffening hydrogels within 6?h, whereas it remains cytoplasmic when the CFbs are cultured on either 10 or 50?kPa static hydrogels. This finding demonstrates how dynamic changes in the mechanical properties of a material can reveal the kinetics of mechanoresponsive cell signaling pathways that may otherwise be missed in cells cultured on static substrates.

SUBMITTER: Gunay KA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6660351 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature