Nanofibrillar scaffolds induce preferential activation of Rho GTPases in cerebral cortical astrocytes

Volkan Mujdat Tiryaki, Virginia M. Ayres, Adeel A. Khan, Ijaz Ahmed, David I. Shreiber, Sally Meiners

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

22 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Cerebral cortical astrocyte responses to polyamide nanofibrillar scaffolds versus poly-L-lysine (PLL)-functionalized planar glass, unfunctionalized planar Aclar coverslips, and PLL-functionalized planar Aclar surfaces were investigated by atomic force microscopy and immunocytochemistry. The physical properties of the cell culture environments were evaluated using contact angle and surface roughness measurements and compared. Astrocyte morphological responses, including filopodia, lamellipodia, and stress fiber formation, and stellation were imaged using atomic force microscopy and phalloidin staining for F-actin. Activation of the corresponding Rho GTPase regulators was investigated using immunolabeling with Cdc42, Rac1, and RhoA. Astrocytes cultured on the nanofibrillar scaffolds showed a unique response that included stellation, cell-cell interactions by stellate processes, and evidence of depression of RhoA. The results support the hypothesis that the extracellular environment can trigger preferential activation of members of the Rho GTPase family, with demonstrable morphological consequences for cerebral cortical astrocytes.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)3891-3905
Number of pages15
JournalInternational Journal of Nanomedicine
Volume7
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2012
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Atomic force microscopy
  • Nanofiber
  • RhoA
  • Stellation

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