Directing Multicellular Organization by Varying the Aspect Ratio of Soft Hydrogel Microwells.

ABSTRACT: Multicellular organization with precise spatial definition is essential to various biological processes, including morphogenesis, development, and healing in vascular and other tissues. Gradients and patterns of chemoattractants are well-described guides of multicellular organization, but the influences of 3D geometry of soft hydrogels are less well defined. Here, the discovery of a new mode of endothelial cell self-organization guided by combinatorial effects of stiffness and geometry, independent of protein or chemical patterning, is described. Endothelial cells in 2 kPa microwells are found to be ≈30 times more likely to migrate to the edge to organize in ring-like patterns than in stiff 35 kPa microwells. This organization is independent of curvature and significantly more pronounced i

SUBMITTER: Pahapale GJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9189654 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature