2011 Fiscal Year Final Research Report
Control of cell functions by mechanical stimulation of cell nuclei
| Project/Area Number |
22650104
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Research Field |
Biomedical engineering/Biological material science
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| Research Institution | Nagoya Institute of Technology |
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Principal Investigator |
NAGAYAMA Kazuaki 名古屋工業大学, 大学院・工学研究科, 准教授 (10359763)
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
MATSUMOTO Takeo 名古屋工業大学, 大学院・工学研究科, 教授 (30209639)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2010 – 2011
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| Keywords | バイオメカニクス / 生物・生体工学 / メカノトランスダクション / 細胞骨格 |
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| Research Abstract |
The purpose of this study is to elucidate the changes in the mechanical environment of cell nuclei during cell differentiation, and to establish a method to apply mechanical stimuli to intracellular nucleus directly. We found that actin cytoskeletal filaments have crucial roles in the intracellular force balance three dimensionally during cell differentiation, which control the three dimensional morphology of nucleus. We also developed a magnetic micropillar array substrate made of silicone elastomer(poly(dimethylsiloxane): PDMS). We successfully embedded iron particles into the micropillars and controlled their location in the substrate. Application of external magnetic field creates forces on the particles in the pillars, and an external force can be transferred to nuclei of cells. This technique can be utilized for direct mechanical stimulation of cell nuclei.
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