| 研究実績の概要 |
In recent years, many types of micro-engineered platform have been fabricated to investigate the influences of surrounding microenvironments on cell migration. However, how the geometrical component of microstructures affect the directional movement of cells still remains unclear. This is particularly important for phenomena like tissue formation and cancer metastasis, where cells migrate through the different microstructures within our body. Understanding this rule will not only deepen our understanding of such phenomena but also enable precise, structure-guided manipulation of cell motility on synthetic biomaterial devices for applications such as cancer diagnosis based on cell motility '(as opposed to traditional antibody-based methods) and tissue engineering. Also, technique of in vivo bioimaging of cancer metastasis will be crucial in understanding and verifying such effects of microstructures within the body.
Latest Research: (1) deciphering the effects of acute-angled microstructures on metastatic cancer cell migration, (2) understanding the combined effects of microstructure and hypoxia on cancer migration and bioimaging, and (3) comparative tumor bioimaging in vivo with radiolabelled and fluorescent glucose analog probes. Results: (1) acute angles of 60 degrees lower the persistence of metastatic cancer cell, thereby allowing "trapping" by such structures, and roles of actin, vinculin and myosin II molecules was unraveled, (2) effects of hypoxia override microstructure effects and (3) radioimaging is better suited for precise cancer imaging compared to fluorescence.
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