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Mechanical Deformation of Cultured Cells with Hydrogels

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Fibrosis

Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology ((MIMB,volume 1627))

Abstract

Polyacrylamide hydrogels can be used to culture cells in a range of stiffness that can closer mimic physiological environments. Changes in environmental stiffness have been documented in conditions such as fibrosis, cancer, and aging. In this chapter, we describe a method in which we pour gels directly into multiwell plates using a plastic support that covalently binds to the polymerizing hydrogel. The hydrogel is then crosslinked to calfskin collagen using a crosslinker. The result is a thick hydrogel, scalable to any size plate, which covers the entire surface of the well with no edge effects. The gels can be routinely assembled and are easily reproducible. These scaffolds are used as in vitro models to study fibroblast reaction to variation in environmental stiffness.

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Acknowledgments

C.A.W. is supported by NIH award T32AR007197.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dermatology Therapeutic Area, GlaxoSmithKline, Collegeville, PA, USA

    Laure Rittié

  2. Department of Dermatology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

    Christal A. Worthen, Laure Rittié & Gary J. Fisher

Authors
  1. Christal A. Worthen
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  2. Laure Rittié
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  3. Gary J. Fisher
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Gary J. Fisher .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Dermatology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA

    Laure Rittié

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Worthen, C.A., Rittié, L., Fisher, G.J. (2017). Mechanical Deformation of Cultured Cells with Hydrogels. In: Rittié, L. (eds) Fibrosis. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 1627. Humana Press, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-7113-8_17

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-7113-8_17

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  • Publisher Name: Humana Press, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4939-7112-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4939-7113-8

  • eBook Packages: Springer Protocols

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