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Integrins Direct Cell Adhesion in a Substrate-Dependent Manner

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Abstract

The relationship between substrate properties and cell behavior is complex, including roles for both mechanics and biochemistry. Here we investigate the role of viscous dissipation on cell adhesion behaviors, using polymer films of tunable lateral mobility. We find that fibroblasts selectively use \(\alpha _v \beta _3\) and \(\alpha _5 \beta _1\) integrin receptors to control their spreading area and polarization on low and high mobility films, respectively. In addition, the dynamics of cell spreading and polarization are well described by a semi-empirical sigmoidal relationship. Analysis of cell dynamic behavior reveals that spreading dynamics are controlled by the availability of integrins, whereas the polarization dynamics are controlled by intracellular signaling. The result that cells preferentially use specific integrin receptors in response to substrate mechanical properties has broad implications for processes in dynamic environments such as wound healing and cancer metastasis.

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Acknowledgments

We thank S. Peyton, T. Barker, and D. Discher for helpful discussions. We acknowledge the NSF for financial support (DMR-0847558) and the MRSEC at UMass-Amherst (DMR-0820506) for use of their facilities.

Conflict of interest

A.P.K. and H.B. declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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No human or animal studies were carried out by the authors for this article.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, USA

    Andreas P. Kourouklis

  2. Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, USA

    Harry Bermudez

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  1. Andreas P. Kourouklis
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Correspondence to Harry Bermudez.

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Associate Editor Michael R. King oversaw the review of this article.

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Kourouklis, A.P., Bermudez, H. Integrins Direct Cell Adhesion in a Substrate-Dependent Manner. Cel. Mol. Bioeng. 8, 488–495 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12195-015-0394-7

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