Ahearne Mark
Trinity Centre for Bioengineering , Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute, Trinity College Dublin , Dublin 2 , Ireland ; Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, School of Engineering , Trinity College Dublin , Dublin , Ireland.
Interface Focus. 2014 Apr 6;4(2):20130038. doi: 10.1098/rsfs.2013.0038.
The development of hydrogel-based biomaterials represents a promising approach to generating new strategies for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. In order to develop more sophisticated cell-seeded hydrogel constructs, it is important to understand how cells mechanically interact with hydrogels. In this paper, we review the mechanisms by which cells remodel hydrogels, the influence that the hydrogel mechanical and structural properties have on cell behaviour and the role of mechanical stimulation in cell-seeded hydrogels. Cell-mediated remodelling of hydrogels is directed by several cellular processes, including adhesion, migration, contraction, degradation and extracellular matrix deposition. Variations in hydrogel stiffness, density, composition, orientation and viscoelastic characteristics all affect cell activity and phenotype. The application of mechanical force on cells encapsulated in hydrogels can also instigate changes in cell behaviour. By improving our understanding of cell-material mechano-interactions in hydrogels, this should enable a new generation of regenerative medical therapies to be developed.
基于水凝胶的生物材料的发展为组织工程和再生医学产生新策略提供了一种很有前景的方法。为了开发更复杂的细胞接种水凝胶构建体，了解细胞如何与水凝胶进行机械相互作用很重要。在本文中，我们综述了细胞重塑水凝胶的机制、水凝胶的机械和结构特性对细胞行为的影响以及机械刺激在细胞接种水凝胶中的作用。细胞介导的水凝胶重塑由多种细胞过程指导，包括黏附、迁移、收缩、降解和细胞外基质沉积。水凝胶硬度、密度、组成、取向和粘弹性特征的变化都会影响细胞活性和表型。对包裹在水凝胶中的细胞施加机械力也会引发细胞行为的变化。通过增进我们对水凝胶中细胞 - 材料机械相互作用的理解，这应该能够开发出新一代的再生医学疗法。
