An understanding of parameters that modulate gene transfer in 3-D will assist in the formation of gene delivery systems and scaffolds, which can mediate efficient non-viral delivery for guiding in-vivo tissue regeneration and therapy. We have previously demonstrated the cell area and length, integrin expression, and RhoGTPases mediated signalling to be pivotal parameters that guide gene transfer to mouse mesenchymal stem cells (mMSCs) cultured in 2-D and are modulated by ECM proteins. In this study, we were interested in determining if cationic polymer mediated gene transfer to cells seeded in 3-D would occur through different mechanisms as compared to 2-D. In particular, we examined the endocytosis pathways used to internalize polyplexes, and the role of cytoskeletal dynamics and RhoGTPases on non-viral gene transfer for cells seeded in 2-D and 3-D. Inhibition of clathrin- and caveolae- mediated endocytosis resulted in more drastic decrease in overall transgene expression for cells seeded in 3-D than those in 2-D. In addition, polyplex internalization was only significantly decreased in 3-D when clathrin-mediated endocytosis was inhibited, while caveolae-mediated endocytosis inhibition for cells seeded in 2-D resulted in the strongest polyplex internalization inhibition. Actin and microtubule polymerization affected 2-D and 3-D transfection differently. Microtubule depolymerization enhanced transgene expression in 2-D, but inhibited transgene expression in 3-D. Last, inhibition of RhoGTPases also affected 2-D and 3-D transfection differently. The inhibition of ROCK effector resulted in a decrease of transgene expression and internalization for cells seeded in 3-D, but not 2-D and the inhibition of effector PAK1 resulted in an increase of transgene expression for both 2-D and 3-D. Overall, our study suggests that the process of gene transfer occurs through different mechanisms for cells seeded in 2-D compared to those seeded in 3-D.

The ability to design artificial extracellular matrices as cell instructive scaffolds has opened the door to technologies capable of studying cell fate in vitro and to guide tissue repair in vivo. One main component of the design of artificial extracellular matrices is the incorporation of biochemical cues to guide cell phenotype and multicellular organization. The extracellular matrix is composed of a heterogeneous mixture of proteins that present a variety of spatially discrete signals to residing cell populations. In contrast, most engineered ECMs do not mimic this heterogeneity. In recent years the use of photodeprotection has been used to achieve spatial immobilization of signals. However, these approaches have been limited mostly to small peptides. Here we combine photodeprotection with enzymatic reaction to achieve spatially controlled immobilization of active bioactive signals that range from small molecules to large proteins. A peptide substrate for transglutaminase factor XIII (FXIIIa) is caged with a photodeprotectable group, which is then immobilized to the bulk of a cell compatible hydrogel. With the use of focused light the substrate can be deprotected and used to immobilize patterned bioactive signals. This approach offers an innovative strategy to immobilize delicate bioactive signals, such as growth factors, without loss of activity and enables In situ cell manipulation of encapsulated cells.

amount bound for 50 % was half that for 100 % deprotection (matching the predicted value, shown in black); this indicated that photo-deprotection and bioactive signal conjugation can be predicted.