Graphene Enhances Actin Filament Assembly Kinetics and Modulates NIH-3T3 Fibroblast Cell Spreading

Abstract

Actin plays critical roles in various cellular functions, including cell morphogenesis, differentiation, and movement. The assembly of actin monomers into double-helical filaments is regulated in surrounding microenvironments. Graphene is an attractive nanomaterial that has been used in various biomaterial applications, such as drug delivery cargo and scaffold for cells, due to its unique physical and chemical properties. Although several studies have shown the potential effects of graphene on actin at the cellular level, the direct influence of graphene on actin filament dynamics has not been studied. Here, we investigate the effects of graphene on actin assembly kinetics using spectroscopy and total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy. We demonstrate that graphene enhances the rates of actin filament growth in a concentration-dependent manner. Furthermore, cell morphology and spreading are modulated in mouse embryo fibroblast NIH-3T3 cultured on a graphene surface without significantly affecting cell viability. Taken together, these results suggest that graphene may have a direct impact on actin cytoskeleton remodeling.

Strong, tough, and elastic poly(vinyl alcohol)/polyacrylamide DN hydrogels based on the Hofmeister effect for articular cartilage replacement

“…As an essential cytoskeletal protein, actin can transmit the mechanical signals from sites of matrix adhesion to the nucleus and promote the reorganization of cellular architectures, thereby playing an important role in cell morphogenesis, migration, and differentiation. 54 Thus, the cell adhered state is related to actin fibers, 53 which suggested that PVA/PAM–Cit exhibited superior cell adhesion and spreading behavior. To quantitatively characterize the spreading status of cells on the material, the cell spread area was statistically analyzed with Image J.…”

Nanostructured graphene oxide enriched with metallic nanoparticles as a biointerface to enhance cell adhesion through mechanosensory modifications

“…54 However, GO modulates the assembly kinetics of actin filaments in a concentration- and application-dependent manner, making cells grown on the GO surface more elongated and spread out compared to the cells treated with GO nanoflakes accompanied by enhanced actin polymerization. 55…”

Enhancing the Biopharmacological Characteristics of Asperosaponin VI: Unveiling Dynamic Self-Assembly Phase Transitions in the Gastrointestinal Environment

“…The self-assembly structure can be influenced by the interaction at the interface, which depends on the surface properties, such as amphiphilicity, electrostatic interactions, and physical properties including microscopic morphology and roughness. 46

Figure 4 Characterization of ASP VI self-assemblies. ( A ) Dundar effect of ASP VI and ASP VI-NaTC-DOPC-SAN; ( B ) Two self-assembled particle size distributions of ASP VI and ASP VI-NaTC-DOPC-SAN; ( C ) Critical micellar concentration of ASP VI ( D ) Critical micellar concentration of ASP VI-NaTC-DOPC-SAN; ( E ) TEM and SEM characteristics of ASP VI and ASP VI-NaTC-DOPC-SAN: (Ei) TEM analysis of ASP VI; (Eii) TEM analysis of ASP VI-NaTC-DOPC-SAN; (Eiii) SEM analysis of ASP VI; (Eiv) SEM analysis of ASP VI-NaTC-DOPC-SAN.

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“…The selfassembly structure can be influenced by the interaction at the interface, which depends on the surface properties, such as amphiphilicity, electrostatic interactions, and physical properties including microscopic morphology and roughness. 46…”