(64j) The Role of Structure Function Relationships in the Contractility Outputof Vascular Smooth Muscle

The primary function of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) is to control the diameter of blood vessels and thus blood pressure via contraction and dilation. However, VSMCs also play a vital role in wound healing. VSMCs are able to perform both of these functions by readily switching phenotype, between contractile and synthetic, in response to environmental cues. Incorrect phenotype function is associated with a number of pathologies, such as atherosclerosis. For VSMCs, boundary conditions affect cell shape, orientation and coupling, all of which affect the cells' ability to contract. This may be via phenotypic switching or by structure-function modulation. The goal of this study is to determine the specific roles of cell geometry and multi-cellular organization in the contractile output of VSMCs. Using microcontact printing and image analysis, different cellular geometries and multi-cellular organizations were quantified in terms of actin alignment, nuclear shape and alignment, and tissue thickness. This can then be compared to the found contractile output of the cells. Thus far, it has been found that the actin alignment of the lines of different width was similar, thinner lines had better nuclear alignment, and thinner lines also altered the aspect ratio of the nuclei. The future work will consist of correlating this data with the data obtained from the contractility experiments.