Mechanical Cell-Cell Communication in Fibrous Networks: The Importance of Network Geometry.

ABSTRACT: Cells contracting in extracellular matrix (ECM) can transmit stress over long distances, communicating their position and orientation to cells many tens of micrometres away. Such phenomena are not observed when cells are seeded on substrates with linear elastic properties, such as polyacrylamide (PA) gel. The ability for fibrous substrates to support far reaching stress and strain fields has implications for many physiological processes, while the mechanical properties of ECM are central to several pathological processes, including tumour invasion and fibrosis. Theoretical models have investigated the properties of ECM in a variety of network geometries. However, the effects of network architecture on mechanical cell-cell communication have received little attention. This work investigates

SUBMITTER: Humphries DL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5331102 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature