Dr. Nan Huang's Seminar on Microfabrication of Programmable Cell Niche for Single Cell Study

Dr. Nan Huang gave a seminar on July 3, 2024 in person and online on Zoom. His talk was on “Microfabrication of Programmable Cell Niche for Single Cell Study”.

Abstract:

Cell niche refers to the microenvironment that not only provides the physical support but also the biochemical induction signals to cell. In native tissues, multiple cell niche signals, including local biochemical and biophysical signals, and diffusive signals, orchestrate in a well-organized manner to direct tissue patterning, morphogenesis, and regeneration. However, the underlying mechanisms on how specific local niche signals influence cell behavior and fate are not fully understood, owing to the inaccessibility of in vivo microenvironment and lack of in vitro platform able to quantitatively, spatially, and independently manipulate individual niche signals. To solve this problem, we develop the multiphoton microfabrication and micropatterning platform technology. In this talk, I will present our work on engineering a programmable cell niche with the capability to quantitatively, spatially and independently control of multiple biochemical and mechanical niche factors in 3D for single cell study. Using this technology, we have demonstrated that a single cell can sense, respond to, and finally choose its preferred substrate modulus, ECM density and ECM type. The cell alignment, cell polarity formation and asymmetric cell division could also be manipulated in a 3D single cell microniche fabricated using our technology. Moreover, I will show how we could combine our technology with 4D printing to achieve single cell mechanoregulation on demand. In the long run, knowledge generated from this platform technology may point to developing therapeutic and regenerative strategies through manipulation of local cell niches, providing useful instructions for the design of scaffold and substrate for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.

Learn more about our multiphoton microfabrication and micropatterning (MMM) technology here.