The effects of collagen type I topography on myoblasts in vitro

Cells respond to a variety of cues from their environment, which can include chemical, mechanical, and topographical signals. The differentiation of myoblasts requires a combination of signals. Myoblast fusion is strongly influenced by the chemical nature of the surrounding matrix and can be affected by mechanical stimulation.

Studies also have shown that a large variety of cell types also are influenced by details of surface topography of a substrate as small as 44 nm. Cells grown on a collagen-coated surface differentiate more readily than those grown in the absence of the extracellular matrix protein. It is not known whether the effects of myoblast interaction with collagen are due solely to chemical interactions or if myoblasts also respond to the topography of collagen type I fibers.

To determine the importance of collagen-generated topographical signals on myoblast development, cells were cultured and differentiated in vitro on surfaces that had been coated with either soluble collagen type I or fibrous collagen type I. Both surfaces present the same chemical interactions, but the additional topographical signals lead to differences in cell morphology, adhesion, spreading rates and, proliferation.

Cells on the fibrous form of collagen are more stellate, form more adhesion plaques, spread faster, and proliferate at a faster, rate than cells on a surface of soluble collagen. Our data indicate that topographical signals play a role in early muscle development, but that other or additional signaling pathways regulate differentiation.