Missirlis Dimitris, Heckmann Lara, Haraszti Tamás, Spatz Joachim P
Department of Cellular Biophysics, Max Planck Institute for Medical Research, Postal Address: Jahnstr. 29, D-69120, Heidelberg, Germany.
Department of Cellular Biophysics, Max Planck Institute for Medical Research, Postal Address: Jahnstr. 29, D-69120, Heidelberg, Germany.
Biomaterials. 2022 Aug;287:121646. doi: 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2022.121646. Epub 2022 Jun 27.
The established link between deregulated tissue mechanics and various pathological states calls for the elucidation of the processes through which cells interrogate and interpret the mechanical properties of their microenvironment. In this work, we demonstrate that changes in the presentation of the extracellular matrix protein fibronectin on the surface of viscoelastic silicone elastomers have an overarching effect on cell mechanosensing, that is independent of bulk mechanics. Reduction of surface hydrophilicity resulted in altered fibronectin adsorption strength as monitored using atomic force microscopy imaging and pulling experiments. Consequently, primary human fibroblasts were able to remodel the fibronectin coating, adopt a polarized phenotype and migrate directionally even on soft elastomers, that otherwise were not able to resist the applied traction forces. The findings presented here provide valuable insight on how cellular forces are regulated by ligand presentation and used by cells to probe their mechanical environment, and have implications on biomaterial design for cell guidance.
失调的组织力学与各种病理状态之间已确立的联系，要求阐明细胞询问和解释其微环境力学特性的过程。在这项工作中，我们证明了细胞外基质蛋白纤连蛋白在粘弹性硅橡胶弹性体表面呈现的变化对细胞机械传感具有总体影响，这与材料的整体力学性能无关。使用原子力显微镜成像和拉伸实验监测发现，表面亲水性的降低导致纤连蛋白吸附强度改变。因此，原代人成纤维细胞能够重塑纤连蛋白涂层，呈现极化表型并定向迁移，即使是在柔软的弹性体上，否则这些弹性体无法抵抗施加的牵引力。此处呈现的研究结果为细胞力如何通过配体呈现进行调节以及细胞如何利用这些力探测其力学环境提供了有价值的见解，并对用于细胞引导的生物材料设计具有启示意义。
