The Effect of Sustained Static Tensile Strain on Cell Migration Associated With Wound Healing

Topical treatments for promoting wound healing typically include deformations applied to cells at the wound site, e.g. negative pressure wound therapy. However, the effect of deformations on the migration during gap closure is unknown. Thus, we evaluated the effect of radially applied, static tensile strain on the kinematics of en mass cell migration. Fibroblast monolayers were cultured in six-well culture plates on a stretchable linear elastic substrate. The substrate was subjected to different tensile strains, in a custom-designed 3D printed stretching apparatus, effectively stretching the cell monolayer. Then, the monolayer was “wounded” at its center and time-lapse microscopy combined with custom MATLAB algorithms were used to evaluate cell migration and gap closure. We observed a significant stretch-level dependent increase in migration rates, with respect to control cultures. In addition, an accelerated onset of en mass cell migration was observed in the stretched cultures. Therefore, deformations applied to cells at a wound site will enhance en mass cell migration associated with wound healing.