Substrate stiffness regulates cadherin-dependent collective migration through myosin-II contractility.

ABSTRACT: The mechanical microenvironment is known to influence single-cell migration; however, the extent to which mechanical cues affect collective migration of adherent cells is not well understood. We measured the effects of varying substrate compliance on individual cell migratory properties in an epithelial wound-healing assay. Increasing substrate stiffness increased collective cell migration speed, persistence, and directionality as well as the coordination of cell movements. Dynamic analysis revealed that wounding initiated a wave of motion coordination from the wound edge into the sheet. This was accompanied by a front-to-back gradient of myosin-II activation and establishment of cell polarity. The propagation was faster and farther reaching on stiff substrates, indicating that substrate s

SUBMITTER: Ng MR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3483134 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature