Sprouting angiogenesis induces significant mechanical heterogeneities and ECM stiffening across length scales in fibrin hydrogels.

ABSTRACT: Matrix stiffness is a well-established instructive cue in two-dimensional cell cultures. Its roles in morphogenesis in 3-dimensional (3D) cultures, and the converse effects of cells on the mechanics of their surrounding microenvironment, have been more elusive given the absence of suitable methods to quantify stiffness on a length-scale relevant for individual cell-extracellular matrix (ECM) interactions. In this study, we applied traditional bulk rheology and laser tweezers-based active microrheology to probe mechanics across length scales during the complex multicellular process of capillary morphogenesis in 3D, and further characterized the relative contributions of neovessels and supportive stromal cells to dynamic changes in stiffness over time. Our data show local ECM stiffness was h

SUBMITTER: Juliar BA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5831523 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature