Skip to main content

NOTICE: Due to a lapse in annual appropriations, most of this website is not being updated. Learn more.

Form submissions will still be accepted but will not receive responses at this time. Sections of this site for programs using non-appropriated funds (such as NVLAP) or those that are excepted from the shutdown (such as CHIPS and NVD) will continue to be updated.

U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Fibronectin in Layer-by-Layer Assembled Films Switches Tumor Cells between 2D and 3D Morphology

Published

Author(s)

Kiran Bhadriraju, Jennifer S. Hong, Steven Lund, Darwin Reyes-Hernandez

Abstract

Cells in tissues dynamically sense and modulate the adhesive and mechanical properties of their surroundings, according to the functional requirements of normal or diseased tissue. In this study, we show that the migratory and morphological responses of a liver tumor cell line can be engineered in vitro by the combination of a naturally derived ECM protein, fibronectin, and a synthetic polyelectrolyte, polyallylamine hydrochloride. Further, tumor and endothelial cells show dramatic differences in short-term adhesion to a combination of polyallylamine hydrochloride and fibronectin, or fibronectin alone, which allowed us to engineer micropatterned heterotypic co-cultures of the two cell types using a microfluidic manifold. The resulting cell cultures elicit spatially encoded, physiologically-relevant cell responses in both cell types. Our results demonstrate that cell- type specific differences in adhesion response to surfaces can be used to create micropatterned co-cultures of tumor and endothelial cells and suggest that this engineered ECM may be useful for studying tumor-endothelial cell interactions, and for developing in vitro tissue models for cancer drug discovery.
Citation
Biomaterials

Keywords

polyelectrolyte multilayers, polyallylamine hydrochloride, hepatocyte, hepatoma, microfluidics, fibronectin, organic, cell-based assays, drug discovery

Citation

Bhadriraju, K. , Hong, J. , Lund, S. and Reyes-Hernandez, D. (2017), Fibronectin in Layer-by-Layer Assembled Films Switches Tumor Cells between 2D and 3D Morphology, Biomaterials, [online], https://doi.org/10.1021/acsbiomaterials.7b00608 (Accessed October 9, 2025)

Issues

If you have any questions about this publication or are having problems accessing it, please contact [email protected].

Created September 5, 2017, Updated October 12, 2021
Was this page helpful?