Mechanical Response of Neural Cells to Physiologically Relevant Stiffness Gradients. Issue 8 (2nd December 2019) - Kayal, Céline
Abstract: Understanding the influence of the mechanical environment on neurite behavior is crucial in the development of peripheral nerve repair solutions, and could help tissue engineers to direct and guide regeneration. In this study, a new protocol to fabricate physiologically relevant hydrogel substrates with controlled mechanical cues is proposed. These hydrogels allow the analysis of the relative effects of both the absolute stiffness value and the local stiffness gradient on neural cell behavior, particularly for low stiffness values (1–2 kPa). NG108‐15 neural cell behavior is studied using well‐characterized collagen gradient substrates with stiffness values ranging from 1 to 10 kPa and gradient slopes of either 0.84 or 7.9 kPa mm −1 . It is found that cell orientation is influenced by specific combinations of stiffness value and stiffness gradient. The results highlight the importance of considering the type of hydrogel as well as both the absolute value of the stiffness and the steepness of its gradient, thus introducing a new framework for the development of tissue engineered scaffolds and the study of substrate stiffness. Abstract : A new protocol to fabricate a reproducible and mechanically characterized collagen based model of stiffness gradients, valuable for the study of durotaxis, is demonstrated. Morphological responses of neural cells under defined stiffness gradient profiles are investigated and for the first time the combined influence of both local stiffness magnitude and the gradient steepness is highlighted. This contributes significantly to the understanding of neural cell behavior and will underpin future improvements to nerve repair strategies.