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Micro and Nano Engineered Extracellular Matrices

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Nanotechnology for Biology and Medicine

Part of the book series: Fundamental Biomedical Technologies ((FBMT))

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Abstract

Cells in our body are in intimate contact with the extracellular matrix (ECM), the substratum in which cells live. The ECM is composed of proteins, glycoproteins and proteoglycans that are arranged in tissue-specific structures. Cells form adhesions to the ECM via integrins, transmembrane proteins that interact with specific amino acid sequences found within the proteins that make up the ECM (for example, the arginine-glycine-aspartic acid, RGD, sequence). These adhesions are one way the cell interacts with its environment. The cell can influence the physical arrangement of the ECM through these adhesions and the cell itself can be influenced through the adhesions. When cells migrate, they extend psuedopods (filipodia) from the main body of the cell. Gustafson and Wolpert have made striking observations of psuedopods on the order of 500 nm extending from the body of a cell (sea urchin mesenchymal cells) to explore and probe the surrounding environment (Gustafson and Wolpert 1999). This exploration by the cells appears to happen randomly with psuedopods sweeping the surface until a point of stable contact is made. Cell movement then occurs in the direction of the contact through retraction of the attached psuedopod. This apparent exploration by cells of their surroundings has led researchers to develop scaffolds that provide cues to the cells as they migrate across its surface.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Warner Babcock Institute for Green Chemistry, LLC, Wilmington, MA, USA

    James J. Norman

  2. Department of Physiology and Division of Bioengineering, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA

    Tejal A. Desai

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  1. James J. Norman
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  2. Tejal A. Desai
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Correspondence to Tejal A. Desai .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Jacobs Retina Center, University of California - San Diego, Campus Point Drive 9415, La Jolla, 92037-0946, California, USA

    Gabriel A. Silva

  2. Center for Glial Biology in Medicine, University of Alabama, Birmingham, 6th Avenue South 1719, Birmingham, 35294-0021, Alabama, USA

    Vladimir Parpura

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Norman, J.J., Desai, T.A. (2012). Micro and Nano Engineered Extracellular Matrices. In: Silva, G., Parpura, V. (eds) Nanotechnology for Biology and Medicine. Fundamental Biomedical Technologies. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-31296-5_5

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