Effects of Mechanical Stimuli on the Cell Proliferation and Collagen Production on the Micropatterned Substrate

In relation to the tissue engineering, the cellular responses to the morphology of the scaffold surface are interesting topics. Human ligament fibroblasts (HLFs) were cultured on the micrpatterned silicone substrates subjected to cyclic stretch to simulate ligament motion. Groove and ridge width of silicone substrates was 10/50, 20/50, 20/10, and 20/20 ${\mu}m$ (groove/ridge ${\mu}m$) with a depth of $3{\mu}m$. Strain was applied over two days for 4 hours per day with a frequency of 0.5 Hz with the magnitudes of 4 or 8%. The purpose of this study was to evaluate ligament fibroblast alignment and cellular responses in relation to the pattern of microgrooved surface and stretching magnitude. Ligament fibroblasts in the microgrooved surface were elongated and aligned parallel to the microgrooves under no stretch. Uniaxial cyclic stretch induced cellular activities and their orientation rise in cellular response and the cells showed alignment and elongation perpendicular to the direction of the stretch. Biochemical analyses showed that the best cellular response was found on the $20/50{\mu}m$ under 8% stretch. The surface morphology and mechanical stretching were found to contribute to increase of proliferation, collagen production.