Developing A Wound-Assay for Modeling Collective Cell Migration In Vitro

Open Access
- Author:
- Narayanamangalam, Aryath
- Area of Honors:
- Biomedical Engineering
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Science
- Document Type:
- Thesis
- Thesis Supervisors:
- Justin Lee Brown, Thesis Supervisor
Justin Lee Brown, Thesis Honors Advisor
Pak Kin Wong, Faculty Reader - Keywords:
- Collective Cell Migration
Wound Healing
Wound Assay
Scratch Assay
Nanofibers
Biomaterials
Cell Migration
Cancer Metastasis
Electrospinning
Stereolithography
3D Printing - Abstract:
- Migration is a key behavior of cells that enables their basic function. The mechanisms behind individual cell migration are understood fairly well and have been extensively studied over many years. On the other hand, collective cell migration is not so well understood as of now but holds amazing biomedical research potential. In collective cell migration, cells remain in contact and stay connected as they migrate through the extracellular matrix. This form of migration is known to be a key mechanism that drives cell motility during major tissue remodeling, such as with wound healing and cancer invasion. Developing effective methods to observe and analyze collective cell migration in vitro can enable researchers to better understand the core processes that drive major tissue remodeling. The development of this research can potentially set up experimental infrastructure for innovative biomaterial solutions that can enhance wound healing or mitigate cancer invasion. The research in this paper aims to develop methods to model collective cell migration in vitro in a 3D environment through the use of electrospun nanofibers, the design of a 3D-printed cell-exclusion wound assay device, and cell co-culture. HEK-293 and mMSC-GFP cells were used to mimic the interaction between epithelial and mesenchymal cell phenotypes in collective cell migration. These cells were seeded and co-cultured on electrospun poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) nanofibers. Many iterations of the 3D-printed device were designed, tested, and adjusted to enhance the design’s effectiveness in creating a “wound” gap for cells to migrate across without damaging the nanofibers cells attached to or the cells themselves. The successful final design of the device was then tested with the co-culture on nanofibers to offer some preliminary research on the impact of nanomaterials on collective cell migration.