The investigation of the mechanism of biological pattern has been an important topic of life sciences, especially, of developmental biology, for a long time. It is an interdisciplinary problem and many researching data have been obtained and some theories have been structured from many points of view in science. However, up to now, the actual mechanism is still a fascinating puzzle and needs more studies. In this paper, we try to construct a cellular automata model of biological pattern. This model defines the individual model cells and their behaviors, cell-cell interactions, and cell-environment interactions. As an application, we present a new discrete model to simulate the aggregation phase of the development of Dictyostelium discoideum with the concept of "inducing switch".
Animals ; Cell Aggregation ; physiology ; Cell Movement ; physiology ; Dictyostelium ; cytology ; physiology ; Models, Biological

A method of preparing deformable polydimethylsiloxane sheet culture substrates by oxygen plasma vulcanization was developed. As compared with the traditional heating vulcanization method, the substrates prepared in this way have hydrophilic surfaces, the adhesion and spreading of cells both occur quickly, and the wrinkling deformation of substrates develops quickly, too. In addition, the changes of wrinkles during treatment of cytochalasin D were observed, and the result shows that this technique has high temporal resolution.
Biocompatible Materials ; chemical synthesis ; chemistry ; Cell Adhesion ; Culture Media ; Dimethylpolysiloxanes ; chemical synthesis ; chemistry ; Membranes, Artificial ; Oxygen ; Silicones ; chemical synthesis ; chemistry ; Surface Properties

A simple plasma generator was refitted on the basis of usual ion sputter in biological labs, and uniformity of plasma intensity was verified. Bacteriological dishes were used as an example of material surface modification. The results showed that bacteriological dishes were switched from hydrophobic to hydrophilic after plasma treatment, and they obtained the ability to support cells adhesion and spreading. This demonstrated that the refitted ion sputter can be used as an effective plasma generator for biomaterial surface engineering.
Biocompatible Materials ; chemistry ; radiation effects ; Equipment Design ; Ions ; Nuclear Physics ; instrumentation ; Surface Properties

Cell adhesion to material surface plays an important role in regulating cell function such as proliferation and differentiation. Surface patterning provides a useful method to control cell spatial distribution and adhesion to substance. Here microcontact printing and microfluidic channels were introduced to pattern MC3T3 E1 osteoblasts on silicon substance. Dichlordimethylsilane (DMS) was used in microcontact printing to generate the alternating domains of DMS and non-DMS, and cells preferentially adhered to the non-DMS and hydrophilic region. On the patterned surfaces generated from collagen and albumin solutions with microfluidic channels, cells preferentially localized in the collagen-coated region. The results also showed that micropatterning could be a useful method to study the effect of surface chemistry on cell adhesion and other functions.
Cell Adhesion ; Cells, Cultured ; Collagen ; chemistry ; Dimethylpolysiloxanes ; chemistry ; Osteoblasts ; physiology ; Serum Albumin, Bovine ; chemistry ; Surface Properties

The non-random distribution of atherosclerosis was related to local hemodynamic environment. The stabilization of endothelium was important in this process. We studied the effect of magnitude of shear stress on proliferation of endothelial cells. It was shown the proliferation of endothelial cells was inhibited by shear stress, and was related to the magnitude of shear stress. A parallel plate sudden-expansion flow chamber was constructed, and the effect of flow pattern was also studied. It was shown the inhibition effect produced by shear stress was decreased in this chamber.
Animals ; Aorta ; cytology ; Cattle ; Cell Division ; physiology ; Cells, Cultured ; Endothelium, Vascular ; cytology ; physiology ; Models, Cardiovascular ; Stress, Mechanical

The investigation of the mechanism of biological pattern has been an important topic of life sciences, especially of developmental biology, for a long time. We have established a cellular automata model of biological pattern formation, which defines how to form a biological pattern from individual cells and their behaviors, cell-cell interactions, and cell-environment interactions. In this paper, we use that model to simulate the growth pattern of the bacterial colonies in consideration of the effects of both nutrient and metabolite on the cell's reproduction.
Animals ; Bacteria ; growth & development ; Bacterial Adhesion ; Colony Count, Microbial ; Computer Simulation ; Dictyostelium ; growth & development ; Humans ; Models, Biological