A cytoskeletal clutch mediates cellular force transmission in a soft, three-dimensional extracellular matrix.

ABSTRACT: The ability of cells to impart forces and deformations on their surroundings underlies cell migration and extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling and is thus an essential aspect of complex, metazoan life. Previous work has resulted in a refined understanding, commonly termed the molecular clutch model, of how cells adhering to flat surfaces such as a microscope coverslip transmit cytoskeletally generated forces to their surroundings. Comparatively less is known about how cells adhere to and exert forces in soft, three-dimensional (3D), and structurally heterogeneous ECM environments such as occur in vivo. We used time-lapse 3D imaging and quantitative image analysis to determine how the actin cytoskeleton is mechanically coupled to the surrounding matrix for primary dermal fibroblasts embedd

SUBMITTER: Owen LM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5541846 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature