Development of new techniques for artificial control of cellular functional response and its application to biomedical engineering

2015 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 25242039
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (A)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Biomedical engineering/Biomaterial science and engineering
• Research Institution: Tohoku University
• Principal Investigator: Sato Masaaki 東北大学, 学際科学フロンティア研究所, 総長特命教授 (30111371)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): DEGUCHI Shinji 名古屋工業大学, 工学研究科, 准教授 (30379713)
• Project Period (FY): 2013-04-01 – 2016-03-31
• Keywords: バイオメカニクス / メカノバイオロジー / マイクロパターニング / 細胞内情報伝達 / バイオイメージング

Outline of Final Research Achievements

We developed new techniques for micropatterning individual cells and cell colonies, which eventually allowing for artificial uniformization of mechanical stresses as well as functional responses of the cells. Specifically, we demonstrated that localizations of cell adhesions and cytoskeletons, as a marker of cellular functional response, can be controlled in specific portions within cells, thus realizing that variations in the cellular response are dramatically suppressed. We further designed a real-time imaging system to observe the response of such artificially controlled cells subjected to extracellular mechanical stimuli. The techniques developed here will be useful in sophisticated modulation of cellular responses to apply them to bioengineering fields including tissue engineering.

Free Research Field

バイオメカニクス