Name: stretching micropatterned cells on a pdms membrane
Uploaded: 2014-01-22T13:45:00
Description: Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Stretching Micropatterned Cells on a PDMS Membrane at JoVE.com

This work was founded by Institut Curie, Paris, France. The mechanical stretcher was designed by Damien Cuvelier (Institut Curie) and is manufactured by GREM (mecanique-grem.com). The patterning on PDMS was developed by Ammar Azioune (Bordeaux II University).

1. Passivation of the PDMS
<ol>
	<li>Cut a piece of PDMS approximately 35 mm x 20 mm from a pre&#160;made sheet (for instance, GelPak, as listed in the table of materials).</li>
	<li>Remove the top and the bottom protective layers of plastic (if necessary) and use tweezers to place the PDMS in a plastic (not cell culture treated) Petri dish.</li>
	<li>Wash the PDMS with 70% ethanol for 5 min on a rotator at 30 oscillations/min.</li>
	<li>Dry the surface by flowing air on it.</li>
	<li>Illuminate with deep UV (&#955; = ...

<ol>
	<li>Vogel, V., Sheetz, M. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Local+force+and+geometry+sensing+regulate+cell+functions.">Local force and geometry sensing regulate cell functions.</a> Nat. Rev. Mol. Cell Biol. 7, 265-275 (2006).</li><li>Terenna, C. R., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Physical+mechanisms+redirecting+cell+polarity+and+cell+shape+in+fission+yeast.">Physical mechanisms redirecting cell polarity and cell shape in fission yeast.</a> Curr. Biol. 18 (22), 1748-1753 (2008).</li><li>Guillot, C., Lecuit, T. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Mechanics+of+epithelial+tissue+homeostasis+and+morphogenesis.">Mechanics of epithelial tissue homeostasis and morphogenesis.</a> Science. 340 (6137), 1185-1189 (2013).</li><li>Bosveld, F., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Mechanical+control+of+morphogenesis+by+Fat/Dachsous/Four-jointed+planar+cell+polarity+pathway.">Mechanical control of morphogenesis by Fat/Dachsous/Four-jointed planar cell polarity pathway.</a> Science. 336 (6082), 724-727 (2012).</li><li>Farhadifar, R., Roper, J. 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Although this technique has been used numerous times and is thoroughly tested, there are several critical steps that can lead to a failed experiment.
About the PDMS:
For this work, GelPak, a commercially available thin PDMS sheet, was used. Alternatively PDMS sheets can be cast directly from PDMS mix. We recommend using GelPak because it is more reproducible, and is less likely to break compared to custom made PDMS.
About the device:
<p cla...

The cells composing a tissue in higher organisms are subject to mechanical tensions and stretching forces coming either from the external environment or from surrounding cells1,2. Cells must adapt to and resist these forces in order to maintain tissue integrity. Such forces are also important for tissues morphogenesis during development3,4. Applying mechanical forces on cultured cells is a way to mimic what might happen in a tissue, but with a quantitative and independent control of cell shape and cell deformation5,6. For this, several techniques might be used. One can press on the cells (the whole cell or part of it), for example using AFM or derivatives7,8&#160;or stretch the substrate the cells are growing on.
The method described in this paper demonstrates how to stretch a plane substrate plated with cells. This technique was originally developed to assess the role of forces exerted on mitotic mammalian cells9. Mitotic cells stay connected to the substrate through retraction fibers and stretching the membrane exerted a force on those fibers, which in turn provoked the rotation of the mitotic spindle. The interest of combining adhesive micropatterns and stretching is to achieve independent control of forces and shape of individual cells. It is for example possible to stretch an ovoid cell into a perfectly isotropic round shape, while uniaxial stretch is applied. If the cells are not platted on micropatterns, uniaxial stretching results in cell elongation, with most cells having a long axis aligned with the stretch axis. It is then difficult to separate the effect of the long axis alignment and the effect of the stretch applied to the cells.
The device is suitable for any live cell imaging, including long time lapse fluorescent microscopy, and drugs can be added during the experiment. The deep UVs&#160;micropatterning method10&#160;was described in details in Azioune et al.11&#160;Patterning on PDMS was described in Azioune et al.12&#160;The present stretching protocol is a video version of Carpi et al.13

<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="573">
	<colgroup>
		<col />
		<col />
		<col />
		<col />
	</colgroup>
	<tbody>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:216px;">GelPak</td>
			<td style="width:71px;">GelPak</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">PF-60-X4</td>
			<td style="width:167px;">Different thickness/stickiness are available. One alternative could be to cast your PDMS yourself.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="42">
			<td height="42" style="height:42px;width:216px;">Silicon grease</td>
			<td style="width:71px;">GE Bayer Silicones</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">Baysilone-Paste</td>
			<td>This one is biocompatible</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="63">
			<td height="63" style="height:63px;width:216px;">Stretching device</td>
			<td style="width:71px;">GREM m&#233;canique</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">Stretcher 2011</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="84">
			<td height="84" style="height:84px;width:216px;">EDC (N-(3-Dimethylaminopropyl)-N&#8242;-ethylcarbodiimide hydrochloride)</td>
			<td style="width:71px;">Sigma</td>
			<td align="right" style="width:119px;">3450</td>
			<td>Stable 6 months at -20 &#176;C</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="63">
			<td height="63" style="height:63px;width:216px;">NHS (N-Hydroxysulfosuccinimide sodium salt)</td>
			<td style="width:71px;">Sigma</td>
			<td align="right" style="width:119px;">56485</td>
			<td>Protect from humidity</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="63">
			<td height="63" style="height:63px;width:216px;">Pll-g-peg (PLL(20)-g[3.5]-PEG(2) 20 mg)</td>
			<td style="width:71px;">SurfaceSolutions (Zurich)</td>
			<td style="width:119px;"></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:216px;">Synthetic Quartz photomask</td>
			<td style="width:71px;">Toppan</td>
			<td style="width:119px;"></td>
			<td>Take standard binary photomask in Quartz</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:216px;">Fibronectin from bovine plasma</td>
			<td style="width:71px;">Sigma</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">F1141</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

stretching micropatterned cells on a pdms membrane

Mechanical forces exerted on cells and/or tissues play a major role in numerous processes. We have developed a device to stretch cells plated on a PolyDiMethylSiloxane (PDMS) membrane, compatible with imaging. This technique is reproducible and versatile. The PDMS membrane can be micropatterned in order to confine cells or tissues to a specific geometry. The first step is to print micropatterns onto the PDMS membrane with a deep UV technique. The PDMS membrane is then mounted on a mechanical stretcher. A chamber is bound on top of the membrane with biocompatible grease to allow gliding during the stretch. The cells are seeded and allowed to spread for several hours on the micropatterns. The sample can be stretched and unstretched multiple times with the use of a micrometric screw. It takes less than a minute to apply the stretch to its full extent (around 30%). The technique presented here does not include a motorized device, which is necessary for applying repeated stretch cycles quickly and/or computer controlled stretching, but this can be implemented. Stretching of cells or tissue can be of interest for questions related to cell forces, cell response to mechanical stress or tissue morphogenesis. This video presentation will show how to avoid typical problems that might arise when doing this type of seemingly simple experiment.

The technique presented in this video protocol allowed the application of forces on the retraction fibers of mitotic mammalian cells. Indeed, during cell division, at the mitotic stage, mammalian cells retract to take the shape of a sphere and leave behind thin actin cables surrounded by membrane which are attached to the substrate. These cables (retraction fibers), are the memory of the cell&#160;geometry before going into division. Making micropatterns with deep UV through a photomask on PDMS thin film (Figure ...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Stretching Micropatterned Cells on a PDMS Membrane at JoVE.com

Stretching Micropatterned Cells on a PDMS Membrane

This manuscript presents a technique to apply or release forces on adherent cells or tissues using unidirectional stretching.

Mechanical forces exerted on cells and/or tissues  play a major role in numerous processes. We have developed a device to stretch  cells plated on a ...

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