Biology of cell-surface interactions

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In organs and tissues of the human body, cells adhere to a complex scaffold-like protein mesh called the extracellular matrix (ECM). The ECM provides cells with many stimuli and signals that cells need to behave normally. However, sometimes cells are forced to come into contact with artificial materials. Central in many bioengineering applications is the attachment of human cells to artificial materials, but the factors important in successful cell-material attachment are not well understood. Our previous research has identified that the topography and chemistry of materials can be altered to enhance cell attachment. When a cell attaches to a surface, it results in activation of important signaling molecules required by the cells to survive. Cells attach to surfaces through specialized sites called focal adhesions (FA), and research is highlighting that these adhesions are very important sites in cells. FAs are responsible for relaying the attachment event to other areas within the cells that control normal cell behaviour. We hypothesize that by altering the chemistry and topography of the materials, we can enhance the function of human fibroblasts. Using techniques harnessed from the microelectronic industry, it has become possible to produce structures with precisely defined surfaces for cell-biological studies, thus allowing the reaction of cells to defined topographic and chemical features to be observed. The aim of our research is 1) to investigate the interactions of human fibroblasts with nano- and micro-metric repeating groove topographies, 2) to quantify matrix assembly and tissue development by fibroblasts on nano- and micro-metric repeating groove topographies. The results of the study will directly address how cells transmit external stimuli into signals that regulate their normal behaviour, which will be important for all areas of cell biology. We anticipate that the information produced by our program could in the long term be used in cell and tissue engineering applications, where our lack of understanding of cell-material interactions are limiting the development of engineered tissue substitutes.