Journal
ADVANCED MATERIALS
Volume 33, Issue 40, Pages -Publisher
WILEY-V C H VERLAG GMBH
DOI: 10.1002/adma.202102641
Keywords
extracellular matrix; finite-element modeling; mechanobiology; micromanipulation; robotics
Categories
Funding
- European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union [714609]
- European Research Council (ERC) [714609] Funding Source: European Research Council (ERC)
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Mechanobiology investigates how forces regulate cell behaviors and the impact of physical properties of fibrous ECM on cells. A robotic manipulation platform allows wireless and programmable deformation of engineered fibrous ECM, providing insights into the effects of forces and deformations on cell behavior and signaling.
Mechanobiology explores how forces regulate cell behaviors and what molecular machinery are responsible for the sensing, transduction, and modulation of mechanical cues. To this end, probing of cells cultured on planar substrates has served as a primary experimental setting for many decades. However, native extracellular matrices (ECMs) consist of fibrous protein assemblies where the physical properties spanning from the individual fiber to the network architecture can influence the transmission of forces to and from the cells. Here, a robotic manipulation platform that allows wireless, localized, and programmable deformation of an engineered fibrous ECM is introduced. A finite-element-based digital twin of the fiber network calibrated against measured local and global parameters enables the calculation of deformations and stresses generated by different magnetic actuation schemes across a range of network properties. Physiologically relevant mechanical forces are applied to cells cultured on the fiber network, statically or dynamically, revealing insights into the effects of matrix-borne forces and deformations as well as force-mediated matrix remodeling on cell migration and intracellular signaling. These capabilities are not matched by any existing approach, and this versatile platform has the potential to uncover fundamental mechanisms of mechanobiology in settings with greater relevance to living tissues.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available