Exploration of Cell Chirality Using Material Surface Patterning

Description

Do cells have chirality, or left-right asymmetry? If yes, how to measure and use it? It is a fundamental question in basic science. In recent years, researchers observe that cells can orient and migrate with chiral bias, and such chiral bias can later cause formation of tissue architecture with LR asymmetry. Since tissue is in diverse forms, cell differentiation must play an important role. However, observation of cell chirality needs special material surface, which is not easily accessible. Here, to tackle this question, we will start a collaboration based on complementary expertise of micropatterning on hydrogel in Prof. Jiandong Ding’s group in Fudan University and the characterization of cell chirality in Dr. Ting-Hsuan Chen’s group in City University of Hong Kong. We plan to fabricate hydrogel micropatterns to culture bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells. By monitoring the cell chirality, we will first investigate whether the cell chirality can early respond to and even itself regulate lineage specification. Next, we will sort the stem cells into subgroups with varied differentiation potentials to elucidate the relationship between cell chirality and lineage commitment. Finally, we will explore the possibility of using cell chirality as a marker for predicting the lineage fate of cells.