Cell migration within confined sandwich-like nanoenvironments.

Abstract

We introduced sandwich-like culture as a tool to engineer the cellular nanoenvironment by tuning protein presentation and activation of dorsal and ventral receptors. We aim at studying cell migration under more similar conditions to the 3D physiological one. We have investigated different nanoenvironments by changing the protein coating and using materials that adsorb proteins in different conformation, seeking to show their specific role in cell migration. Cell migration within sandwich cultures greatly differs from 2D cultures, shares some similarities with migration within 3D environments and is highly dependent on the protein nanoenvironment. Beyond differences in cell morphology and migration, dorsal stimulation promotes cell remodeling of the extracellular matrix over simple ventral receptor activation in traditional 2D cultures. Local(nano) stimulation of dorsal and ventral receptors within sandwich cultures alter cell migration in comparison to standard 2D environments.