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Mechanical tension is regarded as a crucial factor to trigger neurite
outgrowth and axon elongation in many neurological researches. In this study,
we developed a feasible and reliable stretching platform combined with
photolithography and microfluidic techniques to investigate the effect of
directional tensile force and guiding microchannel on cell behavior of neurons.
The PDMS based substrate with specific micropattern is designed as stretching
membrane where neural stem cells (NSCs) are seeded on and experienced with
tensile force. This allows us to investigate the mechanoresponses of neuron and
verify the effects of tension on neurite extension at a single-cell level.
Different stretching modes (viz.,
continuous or intermittent) and culture conditions (viz., pattern or non-pattern) are conducted to examine the distinct
effects of tension on neurite extension during cell incubation. For cells
undergoing mechanical tension, neurite extension and axon elongation were
significantly enhanced and neurite orientation was heading more toward the path
of tension from random distribution to parallel direction as cells experienced
stretching with parameter 1 mm/day after 7 days culture. We can also find that
mechanical tension apparently influence NSCs differentiation toward neuronal
cells at Day 7 both in pattern and non-pattern area under stretching condition
compared to non-stretching group from the analysis of neuronal protein marker,
β Ⅲ tubulin. However, the neuronal maturity didn’t show significant
difference for neurites either on parallel or vertical channels in microchannel
pattern region. This may be further investigated by long-term culture to
distinguish the directional effect of mechanical tension on promoting NSCs
maturation processes.
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