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In animal cells, the extracellular matrix allows cells within tissues to withstand external stresses and transmits signals from the outside of the cell to the inside. The extracellular matrix is extensive, and its composition varies between different types of tissues. For example, the reticular fibers and ground substance make up the ECM in loose connective tissue, while collagen and bone minerals make up the ECM of bone tissue. 
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The adherens junctions that anchor cells together are multi-protein complexes that dynamically adapt to mechanical stimuli such as tensile forces and shear stress. Mechanosensory proteins in these junctions can sense such mechanical stimuli and undergo a shift in their conformation, resulting in an altered function — a process called mechanotransduction.
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Pattern Generation for Micropattern Traction Microscopy
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Viscoelastic substrate decouples cellular traction force from other related phenotypes.

Nehal Dwivedi1, Siddhartha Das1, Jayesh Bellare1

  • 1Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IITB), Mumbai, 400076, India.

Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications
|January 28, 2021
PubMed
Summary

Cellular interactions with their microenvironment are crucial. This study reveals that substrate viscoelasticity influences mesenchymal stem cell behavior, affecting cell spreading and force generation.

Keywords:
Loss modulusMechanosensingMesenchymal stem cellsTraction forceViscoelasticity

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Area of Science:

  • Biomedical Engineering
  • Cell Biology
  • Materials Science

Background:

  • Cellular functions rely on interactions with the microenvironment.
  • Cells sense substrate mechanical properties and alter behavior.
  • Previous studies primarily used elastic substrates, not viscoelastic ones found in tissues.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the impact of substrate viscoelasticity on mesenchymal stem cell properties.
  • To understand how cells respond to different mechanical microenvironments.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized polyacrylamide substrates with similar storage modulus but varying loss moduli (45 Pa and 300 Pa).
  • Cultured human mesenchymal stem cells on these substrates.
  • Analyzed cell spreading, force application, and expression of key proteins (focal adhesion, cytoskeletal, YAP).

Main Results:

  • Mesenchymal stem cells exhibited increased spreading and reduced force on substrates with higher loss modulus (viscoelastic).
  • Substrate viscoelasticity altered the expression of focal adhesion proteins (Vinculin, Paxillin, Talin), cytoskeletal proteins (actin, myosin, intermediate filaments, microtubules), and YAP.
  • Cellular traction was decoupled from other traction-related phenotypes by substrate viscoelasticity.

Conclusions:

  • Substrate viscoelasticity significantly impacts mesenchymal stem cell behavior and protein expression.
  • Viscoelastic properties of the cellular microenvironment play a critical role in cell-matrix interactions.
  • Findings advance understanding of mechanotransduction in biological systems.