Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Abbreviations
COL-I Type I collagen
ECM Extracellular matrix
ELISA Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay
FN Fibronectin
GFOGER Glycine-phenylalanine-hydroxyproline-glycine-glutamate-arginine
LN
Laminin
PEG
Poly(ethelyne glycol)
RGD
Arginine-glycine-aspartic acid
SAM
Self-assembled monolayers
YIGSR
Tyrosine-isoleucine-glycine-serine-arginine
1
Cell Adhesion
1.1
Significance of Cell Adhesion
Cell adhesion to extracellular matrix (ECM) components is central to embry-
onic development, wound healing, and the organization, maintenance, and
repair of numerous tissues [1, 2]. Cell-matrix adhesive interactions provide
tissue structure and generate anchorage forces that mediate cell spreading
and migration, neurite extension, muscle-cell contraction, and cytokinesis [3-
5]. Moreover, cell adhesion triggers signals regulating the survival, cell-cycle
progression, and expression of differentiated phenotypes in multiple cell sys-
tems [2, 6, 7]. The critical importance of cell-ECM adhesion is underscored
by the absolute lethality at early embryonic stages in mice that have genetic
deletions for adhesion receptors, ligands, and adhesion-associated compo-
nents [1, 8]. Furthermore, abnormalities in adhesive interactions are often
associated with pathological states, including blood-clotting and wound-
healing defects as well as malignant tumor formation [9, 10]. In addition to
pivotal roles in physiological and pathological processes, cell adhesion to ad-
sorbed proteins or adhesive sequences engineered on surfaces is crucial to
cellular and host responses to implanted devices, biological integration of bio-
materials and tissue-engineered constructs, and the performance of cell-based
arrays and sensors as well as biotechnological cell-culture supports [11-14].
Therefore, the development of biointerfaces that elicit specific cell-adhesive re-
sponses is central to numerous biomedical and biotechnological applications.
1.2
Integrin Adhesion Receptors
Integrins, a widely expressed family of glycosylated transmembrane recep-
tors, constitute the primary adhesion mechanism to ECM components, in-
