Quantification of local matrix deformations and mechanical properties during capillary morphogenesis in 3D.

ABSTRACT: Reciprocal mechanical interactions between cells and the extracellular matrix (ECM) are thought to play important instructive roles in branching morphogenesis. However, most studies to date have failed to characterize these interactions on a length scale relevant to cells, especially in three-dimensional (3D) matrices. Here we utilized two complementary methods, spatio-temporal image correlation spectroscopy (STICS) and laser optical tweezers-based active microrheology (AMR), to quantify endothelial cell (EC)-mediated deformations of individual ECM elements and the local ECM mechanical properties, respectively, during the process of capillary morphogenesis in a 3D cell culture model. In experiments in which the ECM density was systematically varied, STICS revealed that the rate at which EC

SUBMITTER: Kniazeva E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3771856 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature