Microscale unorganized wrinkle topographies on biomaterial surfaces modulate cell migration

Abstract

Directional migration of eukaryotic cells results from an interplay between cell motility and environmental cues such as stiffness, roughness, and microtopological features of substrates. While the effects of aligned grooves on the substrate lithographically designed on active cell migration are well documented, the impact of unorganized and wrinkled substrates remains poorly understood. We investigated how microscale wrinkles on gelatin substrates regulate two-dimensional (2D) migration of immortalized human mesenchymal stem cells (iMSCs). We showed that there exists an optimal wrinkle size to enhance iMSC migration, where the iMSCs exhibited larger travel distance with moderate wrinkle size (30 μm) than shorter or larger wrinkle sizes (10 μm and 50 μm). These findings reveal a size-dependent effect of wrinkles on iMSC migration and provide insights into designing biomaterials to control stem cell behavior in regenerative medicine applications.