Investigation of Nanofibrillar Influence on Cell-Cell Interactions of Astrocytes by Epi-fluorescence and Atomic Force Microscopies

Long distance intercellular communication between astrocytes on nanofibrillar and planar surfaces was investigated by epi-fluorescence microscopy and atomic force microscopy. We found that astrocytes on nanofibrillar surfaces and astrocytes on planar surfaces diverged in apparent cell-cell contact structures. Astrocytes on nanofibrillar surfaces exhibited a “single cellular process” response, while astrocytes on planar surfaces exhibited a filopodial network response. The possibility that astrocytes can sense their geometrical environment and form different cell-to-cell contacts on nanofibrillar versus planar surfaces, with activation of different signaling pathways, is discussed.