Matrix viscoplasticity and its shielding by active mechanics in microtissue models: experiments and mathematical modeling.

ABSTRACT: The biomechanical behavior of tissues under mechanical stimulation is critically important to physiological function. We report a combined experimental and modeling study of bioengineered 3D smooth muscle microtissues that reveals a previously unappreciated interaction between active cell mechanics and the viscoplastic properties of the extracellular matrix. The microtissues' response to stretch/unstretch actuations, as probed by microcantilever force sensors, was dominated by cellular actomyosin dynamics. However, cell lysis revealed a viscoplastic response of the underlying model collagen/fibrin matrix. A model coupling Hill-type actomyosin dynamics with a plastic perfectly viscoplastic description of the matrix quantitatively accounts for the microtissue dynamics, including notably the

SUBMITTER: Liu AS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5037370 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature