High-throughput screening of cell contraction for applications in regenerative medicine and drug testing

我们将开发和测试一种新的方法来量化培养细胞的收缩活性，该方法将被建立为工业应用的高通量筛选（HTS）格式。细胞收缩的HTS定量是一种关键但不可用的功能测试，具有重要的应用领域：1）用于增强组织修复的间充质干细胞的功能收缩测试，例如，与糖尿病相关的慢性伤口愈合（> 300万加拿大人，约13 Bio $）或再生患病的心血管组织（> 1000万加拿大人，约18 Bio $）。2)在心血管系统、纤维化和癌症研究中调节细胞收缩性的药物HTS。我们最近开发了一种新的橡胶聚合物，可以对细胞收缩进行光学分析。对现有可变形培养基质的本质改进可以将新材料转变为广泛使用的测定：a）它可以以任何细胞培养形式提供; B）它可以被调节以响应于细胞培养物的生长。

We will develop and test a novel method to quantify the contractile activity of cultured cells that will be established as a high throughput screening (HTS) format for industrial applications. HTS quantification of cell contraction is a pivotal yet not available functional test with important fields of application: 1) Functional contraction tests for mesenchymal stem cells to be used to enhance tissue repair, e.g., chronic wound healing associated with diabetes (>3 Mio Canadians, ~13 Bio $) or to regenerate diseased cardiovascular tissues (>10 Mio Canadians, ~18 Bio $). 2) HTS of drugs to tune cell contractility in the cardiovascular system, in fibrosis and in cancer research. We have recently developed a novel rubber polymer that allows optical analysis of cell contraction. Essential improvements over existing deformable culture substrates can turn the new material into a widely-used assay: a) it can be provided in any cell culture format; b) it can be tuned to respond to the