Toward Hierarchical Tissue Engineering: Chemistry and Topography as Competing Factors in an Endothelial System

摘要

Understanding the role of adhesion in biofilm formation is a primary focus in our lab. General phenomena governing biofilm formation appear to be present in a number of arenas including marine fouling on ship hulls, and, cellular interactions on the surfaces of biomedical materials. This study examines the factors of chemistry and topography in an endothelial model system. Cell systems and tissues are influenced by a number of factors during their development and the course of their existence within an organism. Two of the most prominent factors in vivo appear to be chemistry and topography. Cell binding to specific receptors, or arrangements of chemical molecules that are bound to a surface is a form of chemical influence. Protein mediated receptor binding to substrates is an event that occurs in vivo and in vitro in numerous cell types like endothelial cells, mesenchymal cells and fibroblasts and epithelial cells origin. Topography has also been shown to direct the function of cells in vivo and in culture. Neural cells migrate along radial glial cell fibers, thus being topographically guided throughout the central nervous system. Basement membrane, the thin layer that many cells grow directly on, also has an inherent topography that has been suggested to influence corneal epithelial cells and renal endothelial cells.