Reversible hydrogels with tunable mechanical properties for optically controlling cell migration
Reversible hydrogels with tunable mechanical properties for optically controlling cell migration
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具有可调机械性能的可逆水凝胶，用于光学控制细胞迁移
DOI：
10.1007/s12274-017-1890-y
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发表时间：
2018
期刊：
影响因子：
9.9
通讯作者：
Cao Yi
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Wu Xin;Huang Wenmao;Wu Wen-Hao;Xue Bin;Xiang Dongfang;Li Ying;Qin Meng;Sun Fei;Wang Wei;Zhang Wen-Bin;Cao Yi
合成水凝胶被广泛用作体外仿生模型系统，以了解细胞如何响应复杂的微环境。水凝胶的机械性能对于许多细胞行为是决定性的，包括细胞迁移、扩散和分化。然而，设计水凝胶以重新获得天然细胞外基质的动态机械性能仍然是一个重大挑战。在这里，我们提供了一种具有时空可调机械性能的新水凝胶平台，用于分析和定义光下的细胞行为。水凝胶机械性能的变化是通过光诱导的交联荧光蛋白 Dronpa145N 在四聚体和单体状态之间的转换来实现的，这对水凝胶的化学性能造成最小的变化。正如流变测量和基于原子力显微镜的纳米压痕所证实的那样，使用可见光可以快速、可逆地调节多个循环的机械性能。我们进一步证明了通过光诱导的刚度切换对水凝胶上细胞迁移行为的实时和可逆调节，并且对培养细胞的侵入最小。具有可编程机械历史和空间定义的机械层次结构的水凝胶可以作为理想的模型系统，以更好地理解复杂的细胞功能。
Synthetic hydrogels are widely used as biomimeticin vitromodel systems to understand how cells respond to complex microenvironments. The mechanical properties of hydrogels are deterministic for many cellular behaviors, including cell migration, spreading, and differentiation. However, it remains a major challenge to engineer hydrogels that recapture the dynamic mechanical properties of native extracellular matrices. Here, we provide a new hydrogel platform with spatiotemporally tunable mechanical properties to assay and define cellular behaviors under light. The change in the mechanical properties of the hydrogel is effected by a photo-induced switch of the cross-linker fluorescent protein, Dronpa145N, between the tetrameric and monomeric states, which causes minimal changes to the chemical properties of the hydrogel. The mechanical properties can be rapidly and reversibly tuned for multiple cycles using visible light, as confirmed by rheological measurements and atomic force microscopybased nano-indentation. We further demonstrated real-time and reversible modulation of cell migration behaviors on the hydrogels through photo-induced stiffness switching, with minimal invasion to the cultured cells. Hydrogels with a programmable mechanical history and a spatially defined mechanical hierarchy might serve as an ideal model system to better understand complex cellular functions.