Cell nuclei can be deformed significantly and controlled by designing micropillar arrays

A material technique was used to control the shapes of cell nuclei by the design of the microtopography of substrates to which the cells adhere. Poly(D,L-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) micropillars or micropits of a series of height or depth were fabricated, and some surprising self deformation of the nuclei of bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) was found in the case of micropillars with a sufficient height. Despite severe nucleus deformation, BMSCs kept the ability of proliferation and differentiation.

l        Control of cell nucleus shapes via micropillar patterns

 Zhen Pan, Ce Yan, Rong Peng, Yingchun Zhao, Yao He, and Jiandong Ding*, Biomaterials, 33, 1730-1735 (2012)

Pan et al. further demonstrated that the shapes of cell nuclei could be regulated by the appropriate micropillar patterns. Besides circular and elliptoid shapes, some unusual nucleus shapes of BMSCs have been achieved, such as square, cross, dumbbell, and asymmetric sphere-protrusion.

The work was selected by Graduate Association into Academic Corridor. The poster is as follows: