Control of human skin cell adhesion, proliferation and migration by microengineered substrata: transposition from solid phase to clinically relevant materials

The present quantitative time-lapse videomicroscopical study demonstrates that adhesion and migration of human keratinocytes, dermal fibroblasts and myofibroblasts in dissociated culture can be oriented and accelerated on solid-phase substrata comprising microtopography and micropatterned surface chemistry. Greater precision in the control of cell behaviour was attempted using microtopographic ´ratchet´ devices intended only to allow unidirectional cell migration. The data suggests that that cell-specific guidance cues may preferentially influence subpopulations within mixed cultures, and that cell phenotype is influenced strongly by cell substrate interactions. Evidence reaffirming substratum-dependency for several parameters of behaviour in cultured cells was obtained by replacing rigid substrata with a compliant and derivatised polyvinyl alcohol hydrogel where the magnitude of the responses was equivalent.