Harnessing Traction-Mediated Manipulation of the Cell-Matrix Interface to Control Stem Cell Fate

By Nathaniel Huebsch, P. Arany, Angelo S. Mao, D. Shvartsman, O. Ali, S. Bencherif, José Rivera-Feliciano, David J. Mooney. Nature Materials, 2010

1,520 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Stem cells sense and respond to the mechanical properties of the extracellular matrix. However, both the extent to which extracellular matrix mechanics affect stem cell fate in 3D micro-environments and the underlying biophysical mechanisms are unclear. We demonstrate that the commitment of mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) populations changes in response to the rigidity of 3D micro-environments, with osteogenesis occurring predominantly at 11–30 kPa. In contrast to previous 2D work, however, cell fate was not correlated with morphology. Instead, matrix stiffness regulated integrin binding as well as reorganization of adhesion ligands on the nanoscale, both of which were traction-dependent and correlated with osteogenic commitment of MSC populations. These findings suggest that cells interpret changes in the physical properties of adhesion substrates as changes in adhesion ligand presentation, and that cells themselves can be harnessed as tools to mechanically process materials into structures that feedback to manipulate their fate.

Subfields: Biomedical Engineering, Cell Biology

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/b74db23c4e43f6ef54ca4cb00c0c01cf3dbd1bba

How researchers see this paper

The researchers whose trusted networks rank it highest, strongest advocate first. Every researcher gets a different order.

In Biomedical Engineering

In Cell Biology

Citations in the corpus

Basement membranes: cell scaffoldings and signaling platforms. (2011, positive): “In a study of mesenchymal cell behavior using RGD-coupled alginates, it was found that matrix stiffness regulated integrin binding, again optimal at intermediate levels of stiffness (Huebsch et al. 2010).”
Advances in engineering hydrogels (2017, background): “As an example, when a hydrogel is created with proper stiffness and bioactive moieties, it modulates the behavior of the embedded cells (15, 16).”
Natural Polymeric Scaffolds in Bone Regeneration (2020, background): “Being dependent on traction forces, the arrangement of the adhesion ligands and organization of integrin binding can be modulated by matrix stiffness, in turn triggering the osteogenic commitment (Huebsch et al., 2010).”
An algorithm-based topographical biomaterials library to instruct cell fate (2011, background): “Some of the pioneering manuscripts in the field did not only provide proof-of-principle for micro- and nanopatterning of biomaterial surfaces but also disclosed unprecedented control of material surface on the behavior of cells growing on them (3, 4).”
A practical guide to hydrogels for cell culture (2016, background): “However, cells normally remain rounded, as they cannot degrade the matrix 61 ( Fig.”