Response of cells cultured on the substrate with conical inner surface

Abstract

It is generally known that cell behavior is influenced by 3D shape of culture substrate. In this study, we investigated the influence of the conical inner surface of culture substrate on cell behavior. Conical inner surfaces with various apex angles were molded on PDMS substrate. MC3T3-E1 and F-2 cells were used as examples of mesenchymal and epithelial cells, respectively. Cell nuclei were stained and imaged every 30 min for 24 h to observe cell movement. The smaller the apex angle becomes in the conical inner surface, the more cells traveled in the radial direction than in the circumferential direction for both cell types. We also investigated the effect of curvature radius. We used curvature radius on the conic section that is perpendicular to the conical generatrix. A significant correlation between cell traveling velocity and curvature radius was shown.