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Updated: Nov 14, 2025

Concentric Gel System to Study the Biophysical Role of Matrix Microenvironment on 3D Cell Migration
Published on: April 3, 2015
3D mesenchymal cell migration is driven by anterior cellular contraction that generates an extracellular matrix
Andrew D Doyle1, Daniel J Sykora1, Gustavo G Pacheco1
1Cell Biology Section, National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
None:
We describe a cellular contractile mechanism employed by fibroblasts and mesenchymal cancer cells to migrate in 3D collagen gels. During 3D spreading, fibroblasts strongly deform the matrix. They protrude, polarize, and initiate migration in the direction of highest extracellular matrix (ECM) deformation (prestrain). This prestrain is maintained through anterior cellular contractions behind the leading edge prior to protrusion, coordinating a distinct 3D migration cycle that varies between cell types. Myosin IIA is required for strain polarization, generating anterior contractions, and maintaining prestrain for efficient directional cell migration. Local matrix severing disrupts the matrix prestrain, suppressing directional protrusion. We show that epithelial cancer and endothelial cells rarely demonstrate the sustained prestrain or anterior contractions. We propose that mesenchymal cells sense ECM stiffness in 3D and generate their own matrix prestrain. This requires myosin IIA to generate polarized periodic anterior contractions for maintaining a 3D migration cycle.
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